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Iran condemned U.S. President Donald Trump's threat to "blow up" Oman as "dangerous" and "bullying" on Thursday, expressing solidarity with the Gulf mediator while warning that Washington is normalizing lawlessness in international relations.
Trump made the remarks Wednesday during a Cabinet meeting at the White House, when asked whether he would accept a short-term deal allowing Iran and Oman to jointly manage the Strait of Hormuz.
"No, the Strait is going to be open to everybody," Trump said, adding, "It's international waters, and Oman will behave just like everybody else, or we'll have to blow them up. They understand that, they'll be fine."
The White House did not immediately respond when asked by Agence France-Presse (AFP) whether Trump had misspoken and intended to refer to Iran rather than Oman.
The U.S. State Department later posted a clip and transcript of the remarks without any correction or clarification.
Oman is a key US ally that has tried to mediate the Middle East war and has itself come under attack from Tehran. An Omani exclave sits on the southern tip of the Strait of Hormuz, directly across the waterway from Iran. Reports have suggested Oman is working with Iran to establish a toll system for transiting ships, a key Iranian demand in ongoing negotiations to end the war.
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei condemned Trump's remarks in a statement Thursday, describing them as a violation of core international law.
"Threats to 'destroy' a United Nations member state that has always played a constructive, effective, and responsible role in regional peace and security and has used its noble efforts in the service of regional peace and stability as a mediator in diplomatic processes for many years are not only a violation of the fundamental principle of prohibiting the threat of the use of force, but also another dangerous sign of the normalisation of lawlessness and bullying in international relations," Baghaei said.
He expressed Iran's solidarity with the "friendly and brotherly country of Oman" and condemned what he described as the "threatening rhetoric of American officials against Iran and some other regional countries."
Baghaei also strongly condemned the U.S. strikes on Bandar Abbas, calling them "aggressive actions against the territorial integrity and national sovereignty of Iran" and a "flagrant violation" of the UN Charter and the April 8 ceasefire. He emphasized Iran's legal right to defend its territorial integrity under Article 51 of the UN Charter.
Iran's ambassador to Germany, Majid Nili Ahmadabadi, extended the criticism to European governments, accusing them of silence in the face of US and Israeli actions, and warning that the same logic now threatens Oman.
"The silence of some European parties ... would embolden warmongers. Today, the same logic of threat has targeted Oman as well," Ahmadabadi said, according to Iran's semi-official Tasnim News Agency.
"Experience has shown that any misplaced expediency and silence in the face of aggression does not lead to crisis containment, but rather to the normalization of lawbreaking and the hostage-taking of international security," the ambassador said.
"The world must stand against this dangerous path before it is too late," he added.
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