Trump Threatens to Bomb Oman Over Iran Strait Deal
President Donald Trump threatened to bomb Oman because he is unhappy the country is close to a deal with Iran to manage ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, two regional officials said Tuesday, a day after Trump leveled the threat. The reported threat has raised serious concerns about US foreign policy and regional stability in the Middle East.
According to AP News, the officials said the Trump administration has told Oman it is opposed to parts of the yet-to-be-announced deal, including the joint Iranian and Omani management of the exit route out of the passage that is critical to global supplies of oil and natural gas.
A Second Threat Against a US Ally
Trump told Fox News chief foreign correspondent Trey Yingst: “If Oman gets in the way, we’ll bomb the s--- out of them.” The quote was relayed by Yingst on air; no audio of the interview was provided, as NBC News reported.
This is not the first time Trump has threatened Oman, a longtime US strategic ally with a relationship stretching back nearly 200 years. In May 2026, during a Cabinet meeting, he said: “Oman will behave just like everybody else, or we will have to blow them up,” according to Al Jazeera.
The US believes Oman has not been tough enough in its negotiations with Iran and is unhappy with Oman’s agreement to collect voluntary fees from vessels, even if the charges are related to security and maritime environmental protection, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The Iran-Oman Deal and the Strait of Hormuz
Iran and Oman have been negotiating a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the critical waterway through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s traded oil and liquefied natural gas supplies passed before the war. Under the emerging agreement, ships would enter the Persian Gulf through an Iranian-controlled route and exit through a route controlled by Oman, with service fees charged for providing security and preserving the maritime environment, as AP News reported earlier this month.
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said “an understanding has been reached regarding the map of the transit route,” with both sides working to finalize details for a joint statement, according to BBC News.
Any agreement formalizing Iran’s control of the strait would mark a significant strategic victory for Tehran, and the US has sought to block the deal by refusing to lift its blockade of Iranian ports.
Ceasefire Expires With No Deal
The 60-day Memorandum of Understanding between the US and Iran, signed on June 17 at the Palace of Versailles on the sidelines of the G7 summit, expired on Monday with no extension and no peace deal, as CNBC reported. When asked if he would seek an extension, Trump replied simply: “No.”
The agreement, which declared the immediate and permanent cessation of military operations on all fronts, was largely disregarded within weeks as each side repeatedly accused the other of violating its terms. Trump declared the ceasefire “over” on July 7-8 after fresh exchanges of fire.
Iran reiterated Tuesday that Tehran plans to maintain its grip on shipping traffic until Washington meets its conditions. Iranian parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf said: “Until the United States fulfills its commitments under the agreement, including lifting the blockade, releasing frozen assets, lifting oil sanctions, ending threats and military operations on all fronts, and implementing the other conditions to which it committed, the Strait of Hormuz will not reopen,” according to AP News.
Trump’s Territorial Claims Over the Strait
Trump posted a map on social media Tuesday depicting the Strait of Hormuz as US territory. He told reporters in the Oval Office: “I like the idea of declaring it a territory,” without providing details. Trump wrote on social media that a US blockade of the strait remains “in full force and effect,” adding that all water mines have been removed.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi responded with defiance on X: “Just as Trump correctly wrote the name of the eternal Persian Gulf, his delusion regarding the Strait of Hormuz will soon either be corrected, or we will correct this deluded man’s delusions for him.”
Trump also claimed the US has a direct backchannel for talks with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). An IRGC spokesman denied this, calling it “fantasies caused by the delusions and nightmares he has suffered as a result of defeat and desperation in the war,” according to BBC News.
Rising Tensions and Economic Impact
Ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has dropped significantly, with confirmed crossings falling 19.5% to 95 transits. Only three vessels made it through the waterway on Sunday, August 16, according to shipping data platform Kpler, as AP News reported.
An unidentified projectile hit a ship early Tuesday in the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Oman, damaging the engine room and causing a casualty, according to the UK Maritime Trade Operations center. Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels also claimed they fired drones at an oil refinery in neighboring Saudi Arabia, targeting a facility run by Saudi Aramco.
Brent crude oil broke above $90 per barrel and rose 2.7% to its highest level of the day as Trump made the threat, according to NBC News. The crisis has triggered global energy shortages and rattled economies far beyond the Middle East.
Congressional and Expert Reactions
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., said he plans to introduce a resolution that would bar military action against Oman when the Senate returns from its August recess. The Democratic senator said he hopes to “find some Republican colleagues to join with Democrats and check this blindly stumbling power-drunk President from inflicting more damage on the U.S. and the world,” as NBC News reported.
Experts say Trump is likely angry that the US has seemingly been cut out of the deal relating to the strait. “In part, a solution mediated without US intervention and which in fact allows Oman and Iran to manage passage through Hormuz, which lies entirely within the two countries’ territorial waters, would show how impotent the United States is and has been,” Laleh Khalili, a professor of Gulf studies at the University of Exeter, told Al Jazeera.
What’s Next
The expiration of the MoU leaves the US and Iran without a formal framework for negotiations, while the Iran-Oman deal on the Strait of Hormuz remains in progress. Trump has said the US has no planned talks with Iran but insisted the strait is “open and operating,” despite limited traffic and continued attacks in the region.
Iran has signaled it may shift to a more aggressive military stance if diplomacy fails. An Iranian official told Reuters that “Iranian entities must be prepared to escalate tensions in the Strait of Hormuz and wider region,” as ABC News Australia reported.
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry said the Iranian-Omani deal could pave the way for Washington and Tehran to return to negotiations for a “comprehensive and permanent deal that addresses all concerns and enhances regional security and stability,” according to AP News.
As the crisis deepens, the world watches whether Trump’s threats against a longtime US ally will push Oman closer to Iran or force a diplomatic breakthrough. The coming weeks will be critical in determining whether the Strait of Hormuz reopens under a negotiated framework or remains a flashpoint for escalating conflict.