Mayur MohtaUS President Donald Trump stunned observers at a White House cabinet meeting dropping a casual but explosive threat against Oman, a long-standing American ally, over reports that Muscat and Tehran were negotiating joint control of the Strait of Hormuz. The remark raised fresh alarm about the fragility of ongoing Iran peace talks.
Trump’s Shocking Cabinet Room Warning
In a moment that left diplomats and analysts rattled, US President Donald Trump threatened to “blow up” Oman during a cabinet meeting on Wednesday an extraordinary outburst directed at a country Washington has long considered a trusted partner. The threat came after Iranian state television broadcast details of an apparent draft agreement one that would give Iran and Oman joint authority to manage the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump did not hold back. “Nobody is going to control it. It’s international waters and Oman will behave just like everybody else, or we’ll have to blow them up,” he said bluntly. He quickly added, “They understand that. They’ll be fine.” The US State Department later posted the quote on social media with a full transcript making clear the president had deliberately named Oman, not Iran.
Also Read | Trump’s Explosive Warning “We’ll Have to Blow Them Up” Shocks US Ally Oman Over Strait of Hormuz Standoff
What Sparked the Outburst
A reporter at the cabinet meeting directly asked Trump whether Washington would accept a short-term arrangement allowing Iran and Oman to jointly oversee shipping through the strategic waterway. Trump dismissed the idea instantly. “The strait is going to be open to everybody,” he declared. “We’re going to watch over it but nobody is going to control it. That’s part of the negotiation that we have.”
Iranian state TV had reported the framework of a memorandum of understanding one that would reportedly restore commercial shipping to pre-war levels within a month. Under this draft, Iran and Oman would jointly regulate traffic, the US would lift its blockade on Iranian ports, and American forces would pull back from Iran’s vicinity. The Trump administration called the report “a complete fabrication.”
The Strait And Why It Matters So Much
The Strait of Hormuz is one of the most critical chokepoints in the global energy supply chain. It typically carries roughly a fifth of the world’s entire oil supply. Since the US-Israeli military campaign against Iran began in late February 2026, Tehran has shut down the strait triggering a global energy crisis, soaring fuel prices, and mounting anxiety across financial markets worldwide.
Parts of the narrow waterway run through both Iranian and Omani territorial waters which explains why any post-war arrangement would almost certainly involve both nations.
Oman’s Unique Role Now Under Fire
Oman has occupied a rare position in Middle Eastern diplomacy for decades. Muscat has been a reliable back-channel between Washington and Tehran a quiet but effective mediator. When Trump ordered bombing of Iran to begin, Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi publicly declared that a deal to prevent full-scale war was “within our reach.”
That goodwill now appears under strain. Trump’s remarks signalled deep frustration not just with Iran’s negotiating tactics, but with any regional player seen as stepping into a role Washington considers its own.
Iran Accused of Stalling And Republican Hawks Push Back
At the same cabinet meeting, Trump accused Iran of deliberately dragging out talks. He claimed Tehran was trying to “outwait me” until November’s US midterm elections. “They think I’ll weaken,” Trump suggested. “They’re wrong.”
The president’s push for a rapid ceasefire deal while simultaneously threatening fresh military action has opened cracks within his own political camp. Republican hawks, who had loudly backed Trump’s controversial decision to go to war with Iran alongside Israel, issued a rare rebuke. Senator Roger Wicker, who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, called the rumoured 60-day ceasefire “a disaster.”
The Iran Nuclear Question Complicates Everything
A major sticking point in ongoing negotiations is Iran’s nuclear programme. Iranian sources have suggested that discussions on the nuclear issue would come in a second round of talks a sequencing that some of Trump’s closest allies flatly refuse to accept. Secretary of State Marco Rubio drew a hard line at the cabinet meeting. “The bottom line is Iran is never going to have a nuclear weapon,” he said.
Iran, for its part, insists its nuclear activities are entirely peaceful.
Naval Escort Plan Already Failed
Washington’s attempts to physically reopen the Strait of Hormuz have hit repeated dead ends. An earlier plan announced in early May would have seen US Navy ships escort commercial vessels through the waterway. That plan collapsed just two days after its announcement. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Navy reported that 23 vessels, including oil tankers and container ships, had transited the region a sign that some limited movement remains possible.
The Bigger Picture
Trump’s threat against Oman underscores just how volatile and unpredictable the wider Iran crisis has become. The US has deep military and economic ties with Oman American naval vessels regularly stop at Omani ports. The Pentagon offered no immediate response to Trump’s remarks.
The warning also exposed the contradiction at the heart of Trump’s strategy pushing hard for a peace deal while simultaneously threatening yet another country with military force. Critics were swift to point out the irony. “Threatening to blow up an Arab country because its waters sit along an oil route Washington wants reopened is the same lawless logic that produced this war in February,” said one prominent analyst calling it “the clearest possible signal that any ceasefire this administration brokers will hold only until the next time the president loses his temper at a cabinet meeting.”
The BRICS Times
Pratik Agrawal
Akshay Didwaniya
Aditya Didwaniya