Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
United States President Donald Trump has issued a stark and explicit threat to bomb Oman, a longstanding American ally in the Gulf, if the country "gets in the way" of Washington's efforts to secure a deal with Iran over the strategic Strait of Hormuz. The threat, made during a phone interview with Fox News journalist Trey Yingst on Monday, August 17, 2026, marks the second time in four months that the US president has directed such aggressive rhetoric towards the mediating nation. "If Oman gets in the way, we'll bomb the shit out of them," Trump said, according to Yingst's account of the conversation. The president also called on Iran to "put up the white flag of surrender," escalating his language as a 60-day memorandum of understanding between the US and Iran officially expired.
The Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway between Oman and Iran through which approximately one-fifth of the world's oil supply normally passes, has been a critical flashpoint since the United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran on February 28, 2026. Tehran has largely blocked the strait since then, and its reopening has been a central demand in negotiations. Oman, which describes itself as a neutral mediator, has been facilitating talks between the two sides and has been holding parallel negotiations with Iran over a shipping arrangement. Iran announced on Monday that it had reached an "understanding" with Oman on the map of a proposed transit route through the strait, with ships entering through a route close to Iran and exiting through one close to Oman, without fees or tolls during an interim period.
Trump's threat came as the 60-day deadline for the US-Iran agreement expired, a deal that was meant to serve as a path toward a permanent ceasefire but collapsed amid ongoing disputes and sporadic exchanges of strikes. In the same interview, Trump claimed that his administration had established a direct backchannel with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a statement quickly denied by an IRGC spokesman, who called it a "lie" and "merely fantasies caused by the delusions and nightmares" suffered by the US president. Trump also dismissed concerns over a timeline, saying: "I have no time schedule. I'm not in a hurry." This is not the first time Trump has targeted Oman. In May 2026, he said at a Cabinet meeting: "Oman will behave just like everybody else, or we'll have to blow them up."
The threat against a key US ally has drawn widespread international attention, raising questions about the state of American diplomacy in the region. Oman has a long history of serving as a peace broker between Washington and Tehran, including its role in facilitating the 2015 nuclear deal. The latest escalation comes as the US has maintained a naval blockade of Iranian ports, while Iran has sought compensation for what it describes as US violations of the earlier memorandum. As the conflict stretches past the six-month mark, Trump's frustration at his inability to end a war he started but cannot seem to finish appears to have found a target in an ally that has dared to mediate without his approval. The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the president's remarks.
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