The reported remark puts an unusual strain on a US relationship with Oman, a Gulf state trying to keep shipping moving through the Strait of Hormuz. The larger question is whether competing diplomacy can reopen the waterway without deepening a regional crisis.
Donald Trump reportedly threatened to bomb Oman if the US ally “gets in the way” of his administration’s negotiations with Iran, according to Fox News reporting cited by the BBC. The threat was connected to an Iran deal centered on reopening the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway between Oman and Iran that has been largely closed during the US-Iran war.
The reported remark matters because Oman has been pursuing its own talks with Tehran to restore shipping through a route used by roughly a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas. It also puts pressure on a country that has long presented itself as a neutral mediator rather than a party to the conflict.
A threat aimed at a US ally
The BBC reported that Fox correspondent Trey Yingst quoted Trump as saying: “If Oman gets in the way, we’ll bomb the shit out of them.” The comment was reportedly made during a phone interview and was directed at Oman’s separate dealings with Iran.
There has been no indication in the material reviewed that the reported statement represented a formal military order or a stated change in US policy toward Oman. That distinction is important. A blunt presidential remark can still carry serious diplomatic weight, particularly when it concerns a longstanding US partner positioned beside one of the world’s most strategically important waterways.
Oman has historically maintained communication channels with both Washington and Tehran. Its geography gives it a central role in any arrangement involving the Strait of Hormuz: Oman sits on the southern side of the passage, while Iran controls the northern coast.
Why Hormuz is the real issue
The dispute is tied to the effort to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, not simply to a bilateral disagreement between Washington and Muscat. The BBC said the passage has been largely blocked for nearly six months during the US-Iran war after US and Israeli attacks on Iran in February.
That disruption reaches far beyond the region. About one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas normally passes through the strait, making it a major pressure point for fuel prices, shipping costs and supply chains.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said an understanding had been reached with Oman on a transit-route plan and that details would be finalized before a joint statement. Oman had previously characterized its talks with Tehran as positive.
For Oman, the practical priority is reopening the waterway safely. For Washington, the diplomatic concern appears to be whether an Oman-Iran arrangement could complicate, undercut or move ahead of US negotiations with Tehran.
Competing tracks for an Iran deal
The phrase “Iran deal” can suggest a single comprehensive agreement, but the immediate talks described in the reports appear to be more narrowly focused on shipping access and conditions in the strait. At the same time, the wider US-Iran relationship remains unsettled.
A 60-day memorandum of understanding between the United States and Iran, signed on June 18, was intended to support a ceasefire and at least a partial reopening of Hormuz. The BBC reported that it broke down soon afterward as both sides resumed strikes, and it was approaching expiration.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had said that a full reopening depended on compensation from the United States for what Tehran called violations of the memorandum. Reuters previously reported, citing an Iranian official, that Tehran was seeking fees worth 5% to 7% of cargo values from vessels using the route.
Those terms show why a shipping agreement is difficult to separate from the broader conflict. Access to Hormuz is an economic issue, a security issue and a bargaining tool in the dispute between Tehran and Washington.
Trump’s backchannel claim disputed
In the same Fox interview, Trump reportedly said the US had a direct backchannel to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC. The IRGC is a powerful military, political and economic institution in Iran.
An IRGC spokesman denied that claim in remarks to the semi-official Tasnim News Agency, saying there were no talks between IRGC officials and Americans. That denial leaves a key element of the reported diplomatic picture unresolved.
Trump also suggested he was not under immediate pressure to end the war, telling Fox that he had “no time schedule” and was “not in a hurry,” according to the BBC. Yet prolonged disruption at Hormuz creates its own urgency for governments, shipping companies and energy markets.
Oman’s mediator role faces strain
Oman’s value to both sides has rested on its ability to remain a credible interlocutor. It is a US ally, but it has also maintained lines of communication with Iran that are often unavailable to other regional governments.
That balancing act becomes harder if Washington treats independent Omani diplomacy as interference. From a US perspective, separate talks could produce terms that weaken American leverage or leave major security concerns unresolved. From Oman’s perspective, dialogue with Tehran may be one of the few available ways to reduce danger in the strait.
The competing views are not easily reconciled. A deal reached quickly could ease commercial pressure and lower the risk of maritime confrontation. But any agreement that lacks support from Washington, Tehran or both could prove fragile.
What remains unclear now
The immediate unanswered question is whether Oman and Iran will issue the joint statement described by Iranian officials, and whether the United States will accept, oppose or seek to reshape any transit arrangement.
It is also unclear whether Trump’s reported statement will prompt a formal response from Oman or alter US-Oman military and diplomatic cooperation. The available reporting does not establish that a strike is planned.
What is clear is that the Strait of Hormuz has become the center of overlapping negotiations. Trump’s reported threat against Oman underscores how quickly a country attempting to mediate can become exposed when rival powers pursue different paths to an Iran deal.
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