Former US ambassador says Donald Trump‘s threat to Oman over the Iran war was nothing more than an attempt to get attention. Trump recently called out Oman, an ally of the United States, and threatened to bomb it if the country interferes in the United States’ deal with Iran over the Strait of Hormuz.
Former Ambassador comments on Donald Trump’s latest Oman threat
Former US ambassador to Oman, Marc Sievers, who served from 2016 to 2019, recently lashed out at Donald Trump over his comments about Oman.
Trump recently threatened Oman regarding the Iran war and told Fox News, “If Oman gets in the way, we’ll bomb the shit out of them.” This comes amid active talks between Oman and Iran over opening the Strait of Hormuz. While Oman has maintained a neutral stance on the US-Iran conflict, it claimed that it was affected by the strikes carried out by Iran. As a result, it decided to enter the agreement.
Commenting on Trump’s comments, Sievers said that Trump’s words are only a way “to get their attention more than a practical threat.”
He added, “It’s very hard for me to imagine [U.S. Central Command] planning bombing raids on Omani targets when we’ve worked very closely with the Omanis and developed their ports and so forth for access for the US Navy over a number of years.”
Sievers suggested the threat was simply the result of frustration building in the White House over Oman’s talks with Iran about reopening the Strait of Hormuz. He stated, “I don’t really know what the substance is at the moment, but I think it appears that the US side wants the Omanis to leave it alone and let the US take the lead in opening the strait.”
Trump’s comment also follows the closure of the 60-day settlement window between the US and Iran without any result.
Originally reported by Ishita Verma on Mandatory.
