{"id":1009805,"date":"2026-08-19T01:31:23","date_gmt":"2026-08-19T01:31:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1009805\/"},"modified":"2026-08-19T01:31:23","modified_gmt":"2026-08-19T01:31:23","slug":"trumps-anger-with-iran-extends-to-oman-over-strait-of-hormuz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1009805\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump’s anger with Iran extends to Oman over Strait of Hormuz"},"content":{"rendered":"

The world knows that U.S. President Donald Trump<\/a> is angry with Iran<\/a>. But he\u2019s not happy with the small country lying across the Strait of Hormuz<\/a> from the Islamic Republic, either: Oman.<\/p>\n

Oman has played a relatively low-profile role since the Iran war began, including as a mediator. But its geography has thrust the sultanate into the uncomfortable position of negotiating with Tehran over management of the strait while facing Trump\u2019s threats.<\/p>\n

Trump this week told Fox News reporter Trey Yingst that the U.S. would bomb Oman if it \u201cgets in the way,\u201d using an expletive for emphasis. It\u2019s not the first such threat he\u2019s made. Oman\u2019s foreign ministry didn\u2019t immediately respond to emailed questions about Trump\u2019s threat and when Oman and Iran might issue a joint statement on their deal.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a look at the country in the middle of the Washington-Tehran tug-of-war.<\/p>\n

Trump is not happy about emerging Oman-Iran deal<\/p>\n

Trump threatened Oman because he\u2019s not happy that it\u2019s close to a deal with Iran over the strait, two regional officials said<\/a> Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Trump is under pressure. He vowed a quick war and a weakened Iran, along with a better deal on Tehran\u2019s nuclear program. Instead, Iran has seized on the Strait of Hormuz as a new weapon in talks, asserting control of what had been seen as an international waterway before the war.<\/p>\n

U.S.-Iran negotiations have dried up. This week ended the 60-day period<\/a> that launched when the U.S. and Iran signed an interim agreement. It had been meant to open the way for more detailed talks. There\u2019s no sign of it being extended. Trump now says there are no planned talks with Iran.<\/p>\n

So the only confirmed discussions happening now are between Iran and Oman about shipping on the strait. These have been going on for weeks. Oman hasn\u2019t said much about them publicly. Tehran says they\u2019re finalizing a joint statement. There\u2019s widespread thinking that Iran is not in much of a hurry.<\/p>\n

Trump has made plenty of threats against Iran. Now he\u2019s venting his frustration at Oman, too.<\/p>\n

The sultanate had been trying to make peace<\/p>\n

Oman, with a population of just over 5 million, is one of the quieter actors in the Gulf. It has allowed the U.S. military to use its facilities, though Washington has described defense relations as smaller in scale compared with Gulf neighbors like the United Arab Emirates.<\/p>\n

Unlike other regional states, Oman hasn\u2019t been targeted during the war in the way that Tehran has lashed out at other Gulf neighbors. The Washington-based Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft notes that while Omani ports have been targeted by drones, Iran hasn\u2019t claimed responsibility and Oman hasn\u2019t blamed Iran, and no missiles have struck Omani territory.<\/p>\n

Oman\u2019s leaders have long preferred engagement with Iran. The sultanate has been involved in mediation efforts, but that work is now being driven by Qatar and Pakistan.<\/p>\n

The world\u2019s focus has turned more toward Oman since the interim agreement was signed. Not long after the signing, the relative calm was shattered when Iran started firing at ships trying to transit the Strait of Hormuz near the Oman coast on a route supported by the U.S.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n Sign up for Morning Wire:<\/strong>
\n Our flagship newsletter breaks down the biggest headlines of the day.\n <\/p>\n

Now Oman is in discussions that appear to be driven by Iran, which has described the talks as aiming to \u201cdevelop mechanisms to ensure safe navigation through the Strait of Hormuz while respecting the sovereign rights and sovereignty of both coastal states, as well as Iran\u2019s security and national interests.\u201d The mechanisms might include fees.<\/p>\n

Regional officials have said the emerging deal calls for ships to enter the Persian Gulf through an Iranian-controlled route and exit through a route controlled by Oman. But any deal appears to rely on the U.S. lifting its blockade of Iranian ports.<\/p>\n

Oman earlier this month described the talks as \u201cproceeding in a positive and constructive atmosphere,\u201d while in the same statement condemning repeated attacks on ships transiting the strait.<\/p>\n

After a meeting Tuesday between Oman\u2019s foreign minister and his Egyptian counterpart, Egypt said the Iranian-Omani deal could pave the way for the U.S. and Tehran to return to negotiations for a \u201ccomprehensive and permanent deal that addresses all concerns and enhances regional security and stability.\u201d<\/p>\n

It is not clear what effect Trump\u2019s threat might have<\/p>\n

Oman is caught between two heavily armed and stubborn powers. Meanwhile, global supplies of oil, natural gas and related goods are only able to get through the strait at a reduced level, with ships still at risk of attack.<\/p>\n

Since Trump\u2019s latest threat, the government\u2019s Oman News Agency has been posting about other things \u2014 the Muscat Stock Exchange, sports, imports of coffee and tea. Foreign ministry statements have focused on diplomatic meetings and greetings.<\/p>\n

It is not clear whether Trump\u2019s threat will make any difference in Oman\u2019s talks with Iran, including in hurrying the countries to finalize and announce a deal.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s clear that the U.S. president is passing along the growing heat his administration feels as midterm elections approach, and as the global economy watches events on the Iran-gripped strait for any sign of relief.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Associated Press writer Samy Magdy in Cairo contributed to this report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The world knows that U.S. President Donald Trump is angry with Iran. But he\u2019s not happy with the…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1009806,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[4,3],"tags":[396,7838,69,79,57,83,3461,6087,3097,50,32302,256712,80,67,132,68,93,107],"class_list":["post-1009805","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-states","category-us","tag-bombings","tag-diplomacy","tag-donald-trump","tag-economy","tag-general-news","tag-iran","tag-iran-government","tag-iran-war","tag-middle-east","tag-news","tag-oman","tag-oman-government","tag-politics","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us","tag-washington-news","tag-world-news"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/117119594442466743","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1009805","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1009805"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1009805\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1009806"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1009805"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1009805"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1009805"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}