{"text":[[{"start":8.81,"text":"US President Donald Trump has threatened to bomb Oman if the Gulf state “gets in the way” of Washington’s efforts to strike a deal with Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz."}],[{"start":20.59,"text":"Fox News reported on Monday that Trump delivered the threat against the traditional US ally in response to questions from a reporter, as a diplomatic effort to get ships moving through the vital waterway has become deadlocked."}],[{"start":32.18,"text":"Trey Yingst, a Fox reporter, said: “I asked the president about . . . parallel talks that are taking place between Iran and Oman about control of the Strait of Hormuz.”"}],[{"start":41.98,"text":"He said that Trump responded: “If Oman gets in the way, we’ll bomb the s*** out of them.”"}],[{"start":47.636,"text":"The US president, who has repeatedly made belligerent threats during the war as he has been frustrated in achieving his war aims, first threatened to bomb Oman in May. He warned Muscat — which has traditionally acted as a mediator between Washington and Tehran — to “behave like everybody else or we’ll have to blow them up”."}],[{"start":66,"text":"Iran and Oman, whose waters also flow through the strait, have been holding talks for weeks to thrash out a provisional arrangement to manage shipping."}],[{"start":74.16,"text":"There were signs of progress at the beginning of the month, with Iranian diplomats saying Tehran had agreed to the geographical coordinates of a new route for shipping in the chokepoint. They added that the Islamic regime was in the final stages of agreement."}],[{"start":88.1,"text":"But people briefed on the talks said that the push had stalled more than a week ago as Iran sought changes to the interim arrangement."}],[{"start":95.5,"text":"Iranian officials have repeatedly said that, even if Tehran and Muscat reach a temporary deal on Hormuz, it would not necessarily mean that Iran would allow the strait to reopen, insisting that the US would still have to meet a series of conditions. This has included paying compensation for war damage and lifting a naval blockade on Iranian ports."}],[{"start":115.3,"text":"The Iranians have also changed the wording of the statement they have been drafting with Oman in an attempt to give themselves more control over the strait, through which about a fifth of the world’s oil and gas transited before the war, the people said."}],[{"start":127.38,"text":"Under a June memorandum of understanding (MoU), the parties had agreed to extend an April ceasefire by 60 days and allow shipping to gradually return to its prewar levels, toll free, and hold talks on a final settlement to end the war, including a deal on Iran’s nuclear programme."}],[{"start":145.908,"text":"The US lifted its naval blockade on Iranian ports, issued a waiver to allow Iran to sell oil and agreed to allow Tehran to access some of its frozen funds held overseas, depending on the progress of the talks on a final settlement."}],[{"start":159.26,"text":"But the MoU collapsed after Iran targeted ships transiting through a channel along Oman’s coast, as both sides accused the other of violating the deal."}],[{"start":168.42,"text":"Tehran said the ships were using an “unauthorised” route. The attacks triggered a wave of escalatory tit-for-tat strikes between the US and Iran. The 60-day ceasefire expired on Monday."}],[{"start":180.38,"text":"Diplomats hoped that if Iran and Oman agreed a deal to manage traffic through the strait, it would allow Tehran and Washington to return to the MoU."}],[{"start":188.34,"text":"One of the people briefed on the talks said the Trump administration, which has been seeking to ease high energy prices ahead of the US midterm elections in November, had agreed to lift its blockade on Iranian ports and reinstate the waiver on oil sales if Iran opened the strait in an acceptable manner."}],[{"start":204.3,"text":"But the second person said Iran’s deep distrust of Trump meant Tehran wanted US concessions before it opened the strait, which has become Iran’s main source of leverage with the US."}],[{"start":215.26,"text":"“Oman has been put under pressure to make concessions in terms of the route, but that will not get the strait open,” the person said. “Unfortunately, the US has acted in bad faith so often it won’t wash.”"}],[{"start":226.78,"text":"Oman, which was mediating talks between the US and Iran before Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched the war in February, has sought to maintain its traditional neutral stance during the conflict."}],[{"start":238.46,"text":"It angered the Trump administration by saying the parties were close to a nuclear deal days before the war was launched, and has publicly criticised the US’s offensive against the Islamic republic."}],[{"start":249.38,"text":"In a post on his Truth Social network on Monday, Trump said: “The number one Goal is, and always will be, that Iran cannot have, in any way, shape, or form, a Nuclear Weapon.”"}],[{"start":265.38,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1787011163_8929.mp3"}