Oman, a historic partner of the United States and a proven intermediary to Iran, has been threatened again by President Donald Trump over its negotiations with the Islamic Republic, leaving many in the region in turmoil.
President Trump’s warning on Monday echoed a threat he issued in May to “blow up” Oman over future negotiations with Iran over the Strait of Hormuz, even though Trump himself agreed in a signed document that Muscat would “enter into dialogue” with Tehran to define the future administration and maritime services of the Strait.
Mark J. Sievers, Washington’s former ambassador to Oman, remained “perplexed” about the source of the threat to the Gulf Arab state.
“I think President Trump probably didn’t mean to be taken literally and was trying to get Oman’s attention, I’m sure of that,” Sievers told CNN. “It is highly unlikely that Admiral Cooper is planning to bomb Oman,” he quoted Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Central Command, as saying.
Muscat has declared itself a wartime neutral state and has maintained relations with Iran despite the Iranian volleys of missiles and drones aimed at neighboring Arab countries and, at times, Oman. It maintained dialogue with Iran during the war over ships passing through the crucial Strait of Hormuz (which passes through Omani territory) and is currently negotiating with Iran over control of the waterway, despite global concerns about Iran’s ambitions to seize control of the chokepoint.
During the war, Oman had allowed ships to use routes designated by the Revolutionary Guards to avoid unstable waterways.
A former top U.S. diplomat in Oman said Trump’s previous threats had “disturbed” Oman, but Muscat “should take the risk” of repeated warnings.
“This is the second time President Trump has issued a threat. … There is clearly something behind it that Omanis would want to pay attention to,” Sievers said.
It is unclear how far the talks between Oman and Iran have progressed or whether the United States is involved in the ongoing negotiations, but their absence could be a factor in President Trump’s anger with the Gulf state.
“[Trump’s]dissatisfaction broadly stems from the fact that Muscat pursues an independent policy toward Iran that does not necessarily align with the wishes of the United States. But ironically, this is precisely what allows Muscat to play the intermediary role that the United States often relies on to facilitate contacts with Iran,” Hassan al-Hasan, a senior fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), told CNN.
Qatar, another Gulf Arab state that successfully brokered a deal with Iran, was closely coordinating negotiations with the United States.
“If Oman gets in our way, we’ll bomb them,” President Trump said in an interview with Fox News’ Trey Yingst.
Governments in Oman and across the wider region remained silent, offering no condemnation or rebuke of President Trump’s threats. CNN has contacted Oman’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs for comment, but has not received a response.
However, Omani social media commentators were critical of Trump’s threats. One of the commentators, Zakaria Al Muharmi, spoke about Oman’s past diplomatic assistance to the United States.
“America’s wise leaders know that it was Oman that freed many American citizens held in Tehran, and that it was Oman that convinced the Houthis to stop shelling American warships, and that this is the key to resolving the Strait of Hormuz crisis,” al-Muharmi wrote in X.
The Omani commentator added that President Trump’s “rude language” could cause Oman to freeze efforts to save the Republican Party from “soaring fuel costs” and “expected defeat in the midterm elections.”
Another Omani commentator, Abdullah Adawi, said Trump chose “escalation and intimidation” against US allies because the US “sticks to its position and its own decisions.”
Abdulkhalek Abdullah, a political scientist from the neighboring United Arab Emirates, said Trump’s threat was “totally rejected” and Gulf Arab states must condemn it in the “strongest terms”.
“The direction is wrong and the field of view is narrow.”
An agreement aimed at leading to peace talks between the United States and Iran expired on Monday, leaving the two countries in a stalemate over control of the Strait of Hormuz, the future of frozen Iranian funds and Iran’s nuclear program.
The two countries promised in a June memorandum of understanding to reach a “final agreement within a maximum of 60 days,” but the ceasefire soon became mired in violations.
Iran rejected the way ships chose to pass through the strait and began targeting ships, while the United States responded by launching a barrage of attacks against Iranian targets. The Islamic Republic has also launched missiles and drones at neighboring countries that host U.S. military bases.
Oman and Iran are currently negotiating to resolve how ships can cross the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian officials said. If the issue of movement at maritime chokepoints is resolved by agreement between the United States and its allies across the region, it could remove a major hurdle to opening up further negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program and sanctions.
“President Trump’s anger towards Oman is both misguided and short-sighted,” said IISS analyst Al Hassan. “This idea is misguided, as successive U.S. administrations, including the current one, have sought Oman’s mediation in order to facilitate talks with Tehran. …This is short-sighted, as Oman is likely to be key to any future U.S.-Iran peace deal and the resulting strait transit regime,” he said.
“With its strategic credibility in the region already on the rocks, the United States cannot afford to lose a partner as important as Oman to the future of one of the world’s most important and hotly contested maritime chokepoints.”
