US president calls on US ally to ‘behave … or else we’ll have to blow them up’ in casual aside during cabinet meeting
Donald Trump has threatened to “blow up” Oman if it fails to “behave” in a casual aside during a cabinet meeting, as the US scrambles to reopen the strait of Hormuz.
The US president made the threat after reports of talks between Iran and Oman about jointly charging a toll for ships passing through the crucial waterway, which has been all but closed since the start of the US-Israel war on Iran.
The strait – which typically carries about a fifth of the world’s oil supplies – has been blockaded by Iran since late February, triggering a global energy crisis and raising fears for the world economy.
FACT CHECK: None of the Strait of Hormuz is considered “international waters”. The strait lies entirely within the territorial waters of Iran and Oman, meaning both coastal states hold sovereignty over these waters.
This would be like China claiming it can control the Puget Sound / Strait of Juan de Fuca.
It’s an international strait, because there is a sliver of international waters/EEZ in the Persian gulf. One might question the impartiality of the threshold, but it is legally distinct from the strait of Juan de Fuca because the Salish Sea (strait of Georgia) is wholly territorial waters.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_strait
Canada should be watching closely what happens in Hormuz because of its implications for the North West Passage.
*Puget Sound
There’s no “the”. Sorry. Local pet peeve, like calling Pike Place Market “Pike’s Place”.
deleted by creator