U.S President Donald Trump issued a direct warning to Oman on Wednesday, asserting that no country would be allowed to control the Strait of Hormuz.
In a Cabinet meeting at Camp David, Trump stated that the maritime passage must remain open to all nations and said it was “international waters” that cannot be controlled by any one country.
“We’ll watch over it, but nobody’s going to control it. That’s part of the negotiation that we have,” he said.
The President was asked whether he would accept a proposed arrangement under which Iran and Oman would share control of the waterway.
He gave a sharp reply, saying, “They would like to control it. Nobody’s going to control it. It’s international waters, and Oman will behave just like everybody else, or we’ll have to blow them up.”
“They understand that. They’ll be fine,” he added, moments later.
U.S and Iran yet to make a deal
Trump informed that the United States was not completely satisfied with the current terms being discussed with Iran.
He said, “Iran is very much intent, they want very much to make a deal. So far they haven’t gotten there… we’re not satisfied with it, but we will be. We will be either that or we’ll have to just finish the job.”
The two key points that remain obstacles to overcome in the negotiations are the future management of the Strait of Hormuz and Washington’s demand for Tehran to give up its stockpile of enriched uranium. Trump added that he was not comfortable with sending the stockpile to China or Russia.
U.S Secretary of State Marco Rubio also addressed the Cabinet meeting and said the negotiations were moving forward cautiously.
“There’s been some progress and some interest, and we’ll see over the next few hours and days whether progress could be made,” said Rubio.
