The United States and Iranian negotiators have reached an agreement on a memorandum of understanding to extend the ceasefire by 60 days, but US President Donald Trump has yet to give his final approval, Axios reported citing officials.

Earlier on Wednesday, Trump threatened to "blow up" Oman, a long-term ally in the Persian Gulf, complicating delicate diplomacy in the Middle East amid fresh strikes in the region.

The warning from Trump followed reports of discussions between Iran and Oman regarding enhanced cooperation in the Strait of Hormuz, despite the existing US blockade of the critical waterway.

Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi had reportedly met Kazem Gharibabadi, Iranian deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs, who visited Oman this week.

The Muscat Daily reported that a significant portion of the dialogue was dedicated to the critical need for ensuring safe and sustainable freedom of navigation through the strait.

Albusaidi posted on X about his discussions with Gharibabadi, which he said reflected the constructive nature of the Oman-Iran dialogue.

"We reaffirmed the importance of diplomatic engagement on all fronts," Albusaidi said on Monday. "Oman will continue supporting efforts to reduce tension, advance peaceful regional coexistence, security and freedom of navigation."

On Wednesday, the US State Department posted a video of Trump in a cabinet meeting, fielding questions from reporters.

The US president said the Strait of Hormuz "is going to be open to everybody" and reiterated it is "international waters".

"We'll watch over it, but nobody's going to control it … Oman will behave like everybody else, or we'll have to blow them up," he said. "They understand that. They'll be fine."

Mehran Kamrava, a professor of government at Georgetown University in Qatar, said the US president's statements do not always reflect the official US policy.

"His shocking threat to bomb Oman does not appear to represent the US' formal position on the matter," he said.

"The US is getting a lot of pressure from the Arab states to ensure that there is free navigation through the Hormuz Strait," Kamrava said.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei condemned repeated US violations of the ceasefire, its military aggression against Iranian territories, and its threatening rhetoric against Iran and regional countries, including Oman, the Mehr News Agency reported on Thursday.

The threat to "destroy" a United Nations member state, which "has always played a constructive, effective and responsible role in regional peace and security" and used its "noble service" as a mediator in diplomatic processes for many years, was a violation of the fundamental principle of prohibiting the threat of the use of force, he said.

The US military carried out new strikes overnight in Iran targeting a military site and shooting down four Iranian one-way attack drones that posed a threat around the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing a US official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The official said the military site was an Iranian ground control station in Bandar Abbas that was allegedly about to launch a fifth drone.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps issued a stark warning that the enemies' aggression against Iran would not go unanswered.

The IRGC said it carried out new strikes targeting a US air base from where the attack originated in the early hours of Thursday and threatened a "more decisive" response for any repeated act of aggression.

The responsibility for the consequences of any IRGC response lies with the aggressor, it added.

The remarks came after the IRGC Navy forced a US tanker to turn back on Thursday. Mehr reported that the tanker was trying to "illegally cross the Strait of Hormuz after it had switched off its tracking system, despite Iran's restrictions".

Contact the writers at jan@chinadailyapac.com