Published Thu, May 28, 2026 · 06:59 AM

US PRESIDENT Donald Trump on Wednesday (May 27) dismissed a report that Iran and Oman would manage shipping through the Strait of Hormuz as part of a deal to end the war, in a sign that any agreement remained elusive.

Trump’s comments came after Iranian state TV reported that it had obtained an unofficial draft of an agreement that would restore commercial shipping through the strategic waterway to prewar levels within a month, with Iran and Oman jointly managing traffic. That framework also would have the United States lift its blockade of Iranian ports and withdraw military forces from Iran’s vicinity.

Trump said that no single country would have control over the waterway, and appeared to threaten Oman, a country with which the United States has decades-long military and economic ties.

“Nobody’s going to control (the strait),” Trump said at a Cabinet meeting attended by reporters. “It’s international waters and Oman will behave just like everybody else or we will have to blow them up. They understand that, they’ll be fine.”

The White House and Oman’s embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Ebrahim Azizi, head of the Iranian parliament’s national security committee, said that Trump’s “rhetoric” would not force Iran to back away from its demands to enrich uranium, wield authority over the strait and see sanctions against it lifted.

“It is obvious Trump, seeking a way out of this strategic deadlock, alternates between issuing threats and appealing for an agreement,” Azizi said.

The duelling statements showed that the two countries remain far apart even after suggestions from the White House ...