- US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has issued a new warning to Oman after President Donald Trump threatened to “blow up” the US ally.
- “The United States Government will not tolerate any effort to impose a tolling system in the Strait of Hormuz . Oman, in particular, should know that the U.S. Treasury will aggressively target any actors involved - directly or indirectly - in facilitating tolls for the Strait and any willing partners will be penalized,” Bessent wrote Thursday. “All nations should reject outright any efforts by Iran to disrupt the free flow of commerce. Tehran’s days of terrorizing the region and the world are over.”
- Bessent’s warning comes a day after Trump threatened to “blow up” Oman if it didn’t agree to his demands regarding control of the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian state TV said it had obtained a draft of an agreement to restore commercial shipping with Iran and Oman jointly managing traffic.
- Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei called Trump’s threat “another dangerous sign of the normalisation of lawlessness and bullying in international relations.” Tensions escalated as the US struck an Iranian drone operation near the Strait of Hormuz, leading to Iran's Revolutionary Guard retaliating with an attack on a regional US air base and warning of a “more decisive” response to further aggression.
- Despite the renewed hostilities, unnamed US officials informed Axios that American and Iranian negotiators have reached an agreement on a 60-day memorandum of understanding to extend the ceasefire and initiate talks on the central nuclear issue and are awaiting Trump’s approval.
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