US President Donald Trump threatened to bomb Oman, a country Washington considers an ally, if it interfered with American-led negotiations with Iran, Fox News reported on Monday.

Fox News reporter Trey Yingst quoted Trump as saying during a phone call:

"If Oman gets in the way, we'll bomb them." Trump made the threat on the same day the 60-day Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), signed on June 18 between the US and Iran to pursue a permanent ceasefire, formally expired.

Trump claims backchannel with IRGC

During the same call, Trump said Washington had opened a direct backchannel with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The IRGC flatly rejected that claim. A spokesman told semi-official Iranian news agency Tasnim News:

"There are no talks taking place between IRGC officials and the Americans, and this lie by Trump is merely fantasies caused by the delusions and nightmares he has suffered as a result of defeat and desperation in the war."

Despite the denials, Trump appeared unbothered about the pace of any resolution. "They're good players, but they're dying," he said of Iran. "I have no time schedule. I'm not in a hurry."

Iran-Oman strait deal takes shape

According to BBC, the threat came hours after Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei told reporters in Tehran that the two sides had made progress on a shipping arrangement.

"An understanding has been reached regarding the map of the transit route," Baghaei said, adding that both parties would finalise terms before releasing a joint statement.

Since the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran in February, Tehran has largely closed the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas normally moves. Oman, which describes itself as neutral in the conflict, has been mediating between Iran and outside parties to reopen the waterway, even as it has sustained strikes from Iran since the conflict began.

Earlier this month, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said a full reopening depended on Iran receiving compensation from the US for what Tehran characterised as violations of the MoU. Reuters, citing an Iranian official, reported that Tehran was seeking transit fees of between 5% and 7% of cargo values from vessels using the route.

Trump also touched on the upcoming US midterm elections in November, saying they had "nothing to do with my thinking," and dismissed concerns over weapons stockpiles, arguing that what had been used was "peanuts." On July 8, Trump declared the ceasefire "over."

As its formal end approached on Monday, he posted on Truth Social reaffirming his position: "The number one goal is, and always will be, that Iran cannot have, in any way, shape, or form, a nuclear weapon."