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President Trump has threatened to “blow up” Oman, a longtime US ally, if it joins Iran in trying to toll and control the Strait of Hormuz.
Getting into it: The remark came during a White House Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, when a reporter asked Trump whether he’d accept a short-term deal letting Oman and Iran jointly oversee the strait. “No, the strait’s got to be open to everybody; it’s international waters,” Trump replied, before adding, “Oman will behave just like everybody else, or we’ll have to blow ’em up. They understand that. They’ll be fine.” Some people initially figured Trump had simply mixed up Oman and Iran, but the State Department killed that theory fast by posting a video of the comments on X with a transcript naming Oman.
The threat was triggered by reports that Iran has been trying to get Oman to help it charge tolls on ships passing through the strait, with Iranian state media floating a draft memorandum that would give the two countries joint control of the waterway (the Trump administration has dismissed that report as “a complete fabrication”). Oman hasn’t signaled any interest in such an arrangement, and its government did not immediately comment on the reports.
The comment also landed in the middle of Trump’s stalled push for a peace agreement with Tehran, which he accused of trying to “outwait me” until the November midterms. Trump has further muddied the talks by demanding that Arab nations like Saudi Arabia and Qatar normalize relations with Israel through the Abraham Accords as a condition of any deal, insisting “they owe it to us” and warning, “I’m not sure we should make the deal if they don’t sign.”
This all comes as Trump is facing a rare revolt from his own party’s hawks over the prospect of a ceasefire, with Senate Armed Services Chairman Roger Wicker warning that a rumored 60-day truce would be a “disaster” that renders “everything accomplished by Operation Epic Fury” pointless, and the House having skipped town for recess last week without ever bringing the Senate’s War Powers resolution to a vote, apparently worried it actually had the votes to pass.
