Trump Threatens Oman Amid Stalled Iran Nuclear Deal Talks

Trump Warns Iran and Threatens Oman as Nuclear Deal Talks Falter

Stalled Nuclear Deal Negotiations and Rising Tensions

By Trevor Hunnicutt and Katharine Jackson

WASHINGTON, Aug 17 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump said on Monday that Iran would not make the deal he thinks is needed to end a war with the U.S. and should surrender as talks between the countries remained stalled.

Trump’s Stance on the Iran Nuclear Deal

“They’re not going to make the kind of a deal that I feel is necessary. Look, we’re in there for one reason: Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon,” he told reporters in the Oval Office.

Asked whether the U.S. was seeking to extend an interim deal with Iran, Trump said “no.”

Breakdown of the Interim Agreement

The interim deal agreed to in June declared an “immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts”, but quickly unraveled, with Trump saying it was “over” on July 7 and Iran’s foreign ministry declaring it “suspended” a week later.

Under that memorandum of understanding, Iran and the U.S. committed to negotiating a final deal — covering broader issues such as the fate of Iran’s nuclear programme — in a maximum of 60 days, extendable by mutual consent. Monday marks 60 days since the MOU was signed. 

Trump’s Call for Iranian Surrender

Hours before, Trump told a Fox News reporter during a phone interview that Iran “should put up the white flag of surrender.”

Escalating Tensions with Oman

Separately, Oman and Iran have been in talks to try to reach an agreement to restore commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, which carried 20% of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supplies before the U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran began in late February.

Trump’s Threats Against Oman

“If Oman gets in the way, we’ll bomb the shit out of them,” Trump told Fox.

When asked later in the Oval Office if he was out of patience with Oman, Trump told reporters: “No, I don’t think they behaved very well, but we’d handle them very easily, just like we do other things.”

Domestic and Political Implications

The dispute over control of the Strait of Hormuz has driven up fuel prices and put pressure on Trump to end a war that is unpopular at home ahead of the November midterm elections that will decide ‌control of the U.S. Congress.

Impact of Midterm Elections on U.S. Strategy

Trump told Fox News that the midterms were not impacting his strategy on Iran. 

“Midterms have nothing to do with my thinking,” he said. 

Trump’s Core Objective

Earlier on Monday, Trump posted on his Truth Social platform: “The number one Goal is, and always will be, that Iran cannot have, in any way, shape, or form, a Nuclear Weapon,” repeating one of his stated rationales for the war.

(Reporting by Katharine Jackson and Trevor Hunnicutt; editing by Michelle Nichols, Mark Porter and Sanjeev Miglani)