Democrats to Block US Military Action Against Oman

By Staff, Agencies

US congressional Democrats will introduce a war powers resolution prohibiting military action against Oman after US President Donald Trump threatened to bomb the country over its talks with Iran.

Speaking to Fox News on Monday, Trump warned that "if Oman gets in the way" of his efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz through a peace deal favorable to Washington, he would "bomb the sh*t out of them."

Trump was reacting to reports that Oman and Iran were nearing an agreement to reopen the strait, which would reportedly require shipping companies to pay transit fees to Iran, representing a strategic setback for Washington.

In a statement on Tuesday, US Senator Tim Kaine said he would introduce a war powers resolution "prohibiting military action against Oman" when the Senate returns from its summer recess next month.

"President Trump is increasingly deranged in his one-man campaign to threaten and initiate wars all over the globe," Kaine said, arguing that Trump's wars are illegal because they have not been approved by Congress and have imposed costs on US troops, their families, American consumers, weapons stockpiles, and Washington's alliances.

Kaine said he hoped to "find some Republican colleagues to join with Democrats" to prevent Trump from causing further damage to the United States and the wider world.

Without majority support in the Senate, war powers resolutions are largely symbolic. Democrats in both chambers have introduced more than a dozen such resolutions since the US began attacking Iran in February, with one passing the House in July.

However, Republicans hold a 53-47 majority in the Senate, and only one war powers resolution, a non-binding concurrent resolution, has passed the chamber.

A memorandum of understanding signed by the US and Iran in June established a 60-day period to end the conflict and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. With negotiations deadlocked, the memorandum expired on Monday.

Trump has since ruled out extending the current ceasefire, telling reporters Monday evening that he believed Iran was "not going to make the kind of a deal that I feel is necessary."