US President Donald Trump threatened, left open the possibility of attacking, or actually attacked 15 countries during his two terms in office, roughly one out of every 13 countries in the world, according to a CNN report.
Trump added Oman to that list on Wednesday, warning that the country could face US military action if it tries to control the Strait of Hormuz along with Iran, the report said.
“Oman will behave just like everybody else, or we’ll have to blow ’em up,” Trump said during a White House Cabinet meeting.
The remarks appeared to be made casually, rather than as part of a formal policy announcement, but it fits a broader pattern in Trump’s foreign policy, in which threats of force have become a recurring feature, it noted.
Oman is at least the 15th country Trump has either threatened to attack, declined to rule out attacking, or actually attacked during his presidency.
Nearly all of those cases have taken place in the first 16 months of his second term, although some span both terms.
So far this term, Trump has launched strikes in seven countries: Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela, and Yemen. Some of those countries were also targeted during his first term.
That total does not include strikes on alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean, which have targeted nearly 60 vessels and killed more than 190 people, the report said.
Trump has also threatened or left open the possibility of strikes against others during his current term, including Canada, Colombia, Cuba, the Danish territory of Greenland, Mexico, Panama, and Oman, it added.
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