Trump threatens to ‘blow up’ ally over Strait of Hormuz; US midterms won’t affect Iran negotiations; Israel expands Lebanon operation

US President Donald Trump met with his cabinet this morning, with the war with Iran naturally dominating the discussions.

There’s a lot to explore, so we’ll cover it in a few posts.

Trump reiterated that under a peace deal, the Strait of Hormuz would be “open to all” and under U.S. protection but not control.

This again goes against Iran’s repeated claims that there is no return to the pre-war status quo for the key trade route, and that Iran and Oman will jointly ‘control’ it.

Oman has historically had friendly relations with the US, often acting as an intermediary in conflicts in the Middle East.

That didn’t stop Trump from casually threatening to destroy them if they agreed to Iran’s plan.

“Oman will behave like everyone else, otherwise we will have to blow them up,” he told reporters after the cabinet meeting, according to CNN.