President Donald Trump delivered a blistering warning to longtime U.S. ally Oman on Monday, threatening military action if the Gulf nation cuts a deal with Iran over the Strait of Hormuz that undermines American interests.
Oman has been negotiating with Tehran over an arrangement involving shipping through the vital waterway, which carries a significant share of the world’s oil traffic.
Trump made clear during a Fox News interview that Washington will not simply sit back if Oman helps Tehran tighten its grip over the strategic passage.
‘If Oman gets in the way, we’ll bomb the s*** out of them.’
The blunt warning marked an extraordinary escalation toward Oman, which has long served as both a U.S. defense partner and a diplomatic middleman between Washington and Tehran.
The Strait of Hormuz has become one of the most dangerous flashpoints in the ongoing confrontation with Iran, with shipping disruptions rattling global energy markets and increasing pressure on the Trump administration to keep the waterway open.
Trump has repeatedly insisted that Iran will not be allowed to dictate terms for vessels passing through the strait or impose new charges on U.S.-backed tankers.
The president issued a similar warning to Oman earlier this year when asked whether he would accept a joint Iranian-Omani arrangement involving the waterway.
‘The strait will be open to everybody,’ Trump said before being asked who would control it. ‘Nobody is going to control it… We will watch over it.’
Trump then turned his attention directly to Oman.
‘Oman will behave just like everybody else or we’ll have to blow them up. They understand that. They’ll be fine,’ Trump added.
Oman did not publicly respond to that threat at the time.
BREAKING: President Trump tells @TreyYingst he’s in “no hurry” as a backchannel with Iranian Revolutionary Guard officials remains open despite Tehran’s public defiance.
Trump says Iran is dying and playing its hand like a good poker player, projecting strength publicly while… pic.twitter.com/zCuxVTXSdd
— Fox News (@FoxNews) August 17, 2026
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent later said Oman’s ambassador had assured him that Muscat had no plans to charge vessels for passing through the strait.
Oman has historically played a key diplomatic role between the United States and Iran and helped facilitate negotiations surrounding the 2015 Iranian nuclear agreement.
That role has placed the country in an increasingly difficult position as Trump takes a harder line against Tehran.
Iran has used pressure around the Strait of Hormuz as leverage in negotiations with Washington, while the Trump administration has responded with military and economic pressure designed to force the regime back to the table.
The United States has demanded that Iran halt uranium enrichment for an extended period, abandon any pursuit of a nuclear weapon and surrender its stockpile of enriched uranium.
Iran, meanwhile, has pushed for sanctions relief, access to frozen assets, an end to U.S. military pressure and greater control over the Strait of Hormuz.
The standoff has already sent shockwaves through energy markets, with oil prices climbing as fears grow over further disruptions to one of the world’s most important shipping corridors.
Donald Trump’s warning to Oman shows that the White House is drawing a hard line not only with Tehran, but also with U.S. partners that could strike a deal Washington believes gives Iran too much leverage.
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