Veteran Fox News anchor John Roberts was left visibly stunned after President Donald Trump threatened to 'blow up' Oman. The president was answering reporters' questions at a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday when he was asked whether he would be comfortable with Oman, a longtime US ally, jointly controlling the Strait of Hormuz with Iran.
Trump's Remarks on the Strait of Hormuz
'The strait will be open to everybody,' Trump said before being asked who would control it. 'Nobody is going to control it... We will watch over it.' Trump then turned his attention back to Oman, threatening to attack the country. 'Oman will behave just like everybody else or we'll have to blow them up. They understand that. They'll be fine,' Trump added.
Roberts' Reaction
When the cameras then turned back to Roberts at the anchor desk, he seemed shocked by what he had heard. 'In the middle of all that - and it really kind of went unnoticed by the reporters - that President Trump became the first American president that I know of to ever threaten to take military action against Oman, saying they have to behave like everyone else or we're going to blow them up,' he reported, blinking incessantly as he spoke. 'I'm not quite sure what that was all about,' Roberts then admitted, before turning over the reporting to Fox News' senior White House correspondent, Peter Doocy.
Doocy's Takeaway
'Peter, what were your takeaways from this, other than that not-so-veiled threat against the country of Oman, with which the United States had had a traditionally peaceful relationship?' Doocy then went on to bring up other issues that were addressed during the Q&A, including the shooting outside of the White House over the weekend. When he was finished, Roberts thanked Doocy for his input and mused: 'Well, there's no question, there is something going on in this town for sure.'
Background on Oman
It remains unclear whether the president misspoke or why he would threaten to attack a Middle Eastern partner. The Daily Mail has contacted the White House for comment. But Oman has a history of serving as a friendly mediator between the White House and the Iranian regime. The country helped broker the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal and has acted as a US defense partner in the Middle East since 1980. It is now once again serving as a mediator as negotiations continue between the United States and Iran to end the war.
Those talks have hit a standstill as the two sides have been unable to agree on control of the Strait of Hormuz, which normally carries one-fifth of the world's oil supply, but has been shut down since Iran closed it in retaliation for US and Israeli airstrikes in late February. Yet the Trump administration does not appear to be backing away from the president's threats against Oman. The State Department amplified the warning by tweeting out a video of Trump's unusual threat shortly after the meeting ended.
Further Threats Against Iran
Trump also made military threats against Iran throughout the meeting as he discussed the ongoing negotiations with the regime. The president made it clear that while Iran is desperate to come to the table, the United States is holding all the cards and will not accept a subpar deal. 'Iran is very much intent, they want very much to make a deal,' Trump said. 'So far, they haven't gotten there. We're not satisfied with it, but then we will be. We will be either that, or we'll have to just finish the job.'
The president claimed that if Iran does not make concessions to the US, then Secretary of War Pete Hegseth will 'finish them off.' 'I think we'll do very well. They are starting to give us the things that they have to give us. If they do, that's great, and if they won't then the man on my left is going to finish them off,' Trump said before pointing towards a smirking Hegseth.
Iran's Military Capabilities
Trump added that Iran's armed forces have been completely destroyed. 'But the Navy is gone, as I've said 1000 times,' Trump stated. 'The Navy is gone, their Air Force is gone, everything's gone, and they're negotiating on fumes. But we'll see what happens. Maybe we have to go back and finish it. Maybe we don't right now.' However, intelligence reports indicate the regime has rebuilt most of its prewar firepower, including ballistic missiles and launch pads.
Negotiations and Demands
Trump noted that his top envoys, including Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, are actively working on the situation, but insisted Tehran simply has no leverage left. The US is demanding that the regime agree to abandon its pursuit of nuclear weapons and turn over its stockpile of highly enriched uranium. Tehran, however, wants Trump to lift the naval blockade on its ports, which has cut the regime off from its lucrative oil trade with China and other Southeast Asian countries.
