President Trump put a US ally firmly in the hot seat this morning.
And as I researched this story, I was reminded that this wasn’t the first time this Mideast nation has been called out and threatened with attack!
The President said during a phone interview with Fox News’ foreign correspondent Trey Yingst that Oman could find itself in the crosshairs of the US military.
The point of conflict is (drum roll) the Strait of Hormuz, and Oman’s ongoing attempts at reaching an agreement apart from US involvement was the catalyst for the President’s anger.
Here’s a clip of Trey Yingst relating the President’s response when asked about the ongoing negotiations between Oman and Iran:
The White House isn’t backing away from the comments reported by Yingst.
After Fox News reported the ‘bomb the s— out of them’ comments, the White House Rapid Response account on X shared the clip as well:
I’m pretty certain that being shared by the White House is the official government version of, “Yeah, I said what I said.”
Later in the morning, President Trump fielded a question during an Oval Office event on the threat he lobbed at Oman.
He again characterized Oman as behaving badly, and indicated he wouldn’t allow our ally to throw a wrench into efforts to stabilize the shipping in the Strait and his ability to reach a deal with Iran on American-based terms.
Here’s a clip of that moment caught by Fox News cameras sometime after the comments to Trey Yingst:
The President also emphasized to Yingst in the earlier phone interview that the Iranian leadership is in a tough spot, and that the upcoming Midterm elections here at home are not driving his decisions on Iran.
That, also, was reported by Fox News:
As I said, this isn’t the first time Oman has taken unilateral steps with Iran that have drawn anger from President Trump.
Back in May, with Oman in the early stages of pushing an Oman/Iran joint plan to control the Strait of Hormuz, the President made essentially the same threat.
At that time, he specified that the US would be watching over the key shipping lane — long before the President started openly considering claiming the Strait as American territory.
The Department of State X account shared that clip at the time:
Here’s a full screen version of that clip for easier viewing:
The nation of Oman sits south of Iran across the Strait of Hormuz, sharing a border with the UAE to the west.
But if you’ll check out the map I edited below, you can see the Musandam Peninsula that lies mostly on the UAE side of the border with Oman:
But there is a relatively small plot of land at the very tip of that peninsula that is considered a “protectorate” of Oman.
That puts sovereign Omani territory directly across the most narrow place in the Strait.
Iran is therefore attempting to edge out President Trump’s attempts to find a lasting security solution for the Strait by using Oman’s proximity to ground zero of the flashpoint.
Iran wants to reopen the Strait with tolls for shipping, and so far… Oman is sending signals that it’s on board with that — to be overseen by Iran and Oman, according to this from the New York Post:
President Trump’s repeated warnings that he might use military force against Oman are seen by many as nothing but bluster.
And, maybe that’s what it is — negotiating bluster meant to send an emphatic signal.
The concerning part is that Oman does not appear to have received today’s signal, nor the memo sent out by the President back in May.
While Oman generally operates closely with the US in terms of political diplomacy in the region, this latest attempt by Iran’s southern neighbor has definitely caught the angry eye of President Trump.
Diplomats from both Iran and Oman are hinting that a deal between them on the Strait is close to being completed even today, as President Trump threatened a US attack on Oman.
I’m putting this squarely in the “developing story” category — and I’ll be watching it closely to bring you the latest as the situation plays out.
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[ H/T WLT Report ]
