US President Donald Trump has threatened possible military action against Oman, declaring that the Gulf state will “behave just like everybody else or we’ll have to blow them up.”
Trump made the remark during a Cabinet meeting while discussing efforts to keep the Strait of Hormuz open to shipping, according to international media reports cited by Newswire. He reportedly stressed that no single country should be allowed to control the waterway, through which a large share of the world’s seaborne oil — including Sri Lanka’s fuel imports — must pass. Ada Derana, citing Reuters, reported that Trump dismissed an Iranian state media report suggesting Iran and Oman would jointly manage shipping through the strait, telling the same Cabinet meeting “we will watch over it, but nobody’s going to control it.” Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy said only 23 ships had passed through Hormuz with its permission in the previous 24 hours — a fraction of the 125 to 140 daily transits before the war.
There has been no indication from Washington of any imminent action against Oman, which is a long-standing US ally and one of the region’s most important diplomatic intermediaries. The sultanate has repeatedly hosted and facilitated indirect talks between the United States and Iran, making the aggressive tone toward Muscat unusual.
The comments land in a tense post-conflict period for the Gulf. Oman and Iran recently announced arrangements on Hormuz transit following the ceasefire, while the IRGC has warned that Persian Gulf and Omani ports remain unsafe under the US naval posture. The strait has also seen fresh maritime incidents, including a recent tanker explosion off Muscat.
Source: Newswire.
