Trump threatens to bomb Oman

Yeah, it looks that way. Charlie, let's listen to what President Trump said just yesterday during his cabinet meeting about the Strait of Hormuz and a US ally in the region. Nobody's going to control it. We're going to watch over it. We'll watch over it, but nobody's going to control it. That's part of the negotiation that we have. They would like to control it. Nobody's going to control it. It's international waters, and Oman will behave just like everybody else or we'll have to blow them up.

OK, so any fallout from that statement by the President, Charlie? It certainly came as a surprise.

Yeah. But Oman is trying to stay neutral. The Arab country has been an ally of the United States, both militarily and economically, for decades. Oman has also played the role as a mediator between the United States and Iran. In fact, Iran attacked Oman in the last round of fighting. But Oman shares that narrow strait that you can see there, the Strait of Hormuz, on either side of the coastline. Technically, even more narrow is the strait that's considered international waters because of its importance to global commerce. So Trump's statement came after reports out of Tehran. We need to note that, that Iran and Oman were discussing a kind of system to control that strait, possibly even like charging a toll to commercial shipping. That shipping lane, at its most narrow point where the ships pass, is only around 2 miles wide. So Oman is a key player here. Ostensibly a US ally, but also in cooperation with Iran. So that's where we stand now, and the pressure on Oman to try to find a deal is ongoing. Let's talk about Lebanon, because the very shaky ceasefire there is also being put to the test. Can you bring us up to speed about what's happening in that country? Yeah, very serious developments there. It's hard to even call this a ceasefire with the amount of airstrikes launched by Israel over the past few days, the rocket and drone attacks launched by Hezbollah-- and they're saying they're launching these attacks. So just this morning, Israeli officials say that attacks across Southern Lebanon killed 14 people. That included an attack in the city of Tyre, and an attack in Southern Lebanon-- 14 people, including five women and children. An Israeli soldier was also killed in a drone attack in Northern Israel. Hundreds have been killed since the fighting began on the Lebanese side. Yes, the ceasefire is supposed to be in place. And why this matters for the United States is because the wording of an overall peace deal or peace agreement with Iran includes ceasing hostilities between the United States and its allies, meaning Israel; and Iran and its proxies, meaning Hezbollah. And if anything, as we can see, that conflict is only escalating.

Yeah, it certainly seems that way. Charlie D'Agata, as always, thank you so much for your time. We appreciate your insight today. Thanks, Mugo.