President Trump issued a stark warning to Oman on Monday, threatening devastating US military action if the American ally interferes in the escalating confrontation with Iran over control of the Strait of Hormuz.
“If Oman gets in the way, we’ll bomb the [garbage] out of them,” Trump said bluntly in an interview with Fox News correspondent Trey Yingst, delivering the warning as a tentative ceasefire between the United States and Iran nears its expiration.
Trump’s comments come as the future of the Strait of Hormuz remains at the center of negotiations involving Iran and Oman. Tehran said last week that discussions with Muscat were underway over a potential arrangement to reopen the critical shipping passage, which has repeatedly become a flashpoint since the war began.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei announced Monday that Iran and Oman had reached an “understanding” while negotiators work to finalize the details of a broader agreement.
“This is a highly complex issue, and for the first time a mechanism is to be established that both safeguards the sovereignty and sovereign rights of the two coastal states (Iran and Oman) and ensures the safe passage of commercial vessels through this waterway,” he added.
A major sticking point remains Iran’s insistence that reopening the Strait of Hormuz be accompanied by the establishment of a new toll system, a demand opposed by the United States.
Oman, despite being a US ally, indicated in late June that it was receptive to an arrangement under which “voluntary” fees could be collected from vessels traveling through the strategic waterway. The proposal was described as being modeled on systems operating in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore.
Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi has defended the proposed charges, arguing that the money is needed to ensure safe navigation through the strait.
The dispute is not the first time Oman’s position on shipping fees has drawn an extraordinary warning from Trump. In May, after Muscat repeatedly expressed willingness to participate in collecting fees in the Strait of Hormuz, Trump threatened to “blow up” the allied country if it did not “behave.”
The Strait of Hormuz has become one of Iran’s most powerful pressure points during the conflict. Nearly one-fifth of the world’s seaborne oil passes through the narrow waterway, allowing disruptions there to reverberate rapidly through global energy markets and push gasoline prices higher as the November midterm elections draw closer.
Trump escalated his rhetoric over the strategic passage even further on Friday. Speaking at a Long Island rally for Republican candidates, the president said that once the war is over, he intends to declare the Strait of Hormuz “a territory of the United States.”
