Trump Threatens to Bomb Oman Amid Iran War Escalation

President Trump threatened longtime ally Oman with military force if it gets involved in the dispute over shipping access to the Strait of Hormuz, as Washington's war on Iran once again risks engulfing the Middle East. And yes — this is as wild as it sounds.

Here's the setup: A reporter at a cabinet meeting asked Trump to weigh in on the idea of Oman and Iran overseeing trade on the Strait of Hormuz — a strategic waterway that handles more than 20 percent of the world's global oil traffic. Trump's answer? "Nobody is going to control it. It's international waters, and Oman will behave just like everybody else, or we will have to blow them up."

Oman. A country the US has had diplomatic relations with for over 200 years. A key ally.

Trump's threat came after Iran's state television reported on a draft memorandum of understanding between the two countries that would reportedly have given Iran and Oman joint control to manage the strait. The Trump administration, however, called the report "a complete fabrication."

So why does any of this matter to you personally? Because the Strait of Hormuz is a major shipping lane for global energy products and agricultural fertiliser that has operated as a free international passageway for decades — but after the US and Israel started bombing Iran in February, Tehran closed the strait and began to assert sovereignty over it. When that waterway is disrupted, energy prices spike globally, and that shows up in your gas tank and grocery bill.

Oil prices, having fallen more than 5 percent on Wednesday, rebounded after reports of the escalation in hostilities. US crude futures gained more than 3 percent, while stocks fell and the dollar rose. That market whiplash directly affects your retirement savings, your mortgage rate environment, and what you pay to fill up.

And the escalation didn't stop with Trump's words. The United States also warned it would "aggressively" impose sanctions on Oman if it helps Iran establish a tolling system in the Strait of Hormuz. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington will "not tolerate" either country imposing fees on commercial ships in the strategic waterway.

Since a temporary ceasefire was announced on April 8, followed by direct talks in Islamabad on April 11 and 12 that collapsed, the two sides have exchanged a volley of proposals and counter-proposals for peace via mediator Pakistan. In other words, this war isn't over — it's stuck in a painful limbo where neither side is winning the peace.

Trump has framed the deaths of Khamenei and other Iranian leaders as proof of leadership change, but the war has failed to collapse Iran's governing system. Khamenei was replaced by his son Mojtaba, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps continues to play a major role in Iran's political and military establishment.

Bottom line: The US is trying to keep the Strait of Hormuz open and free — and is apparently willing to threaten even its own allies to do it.