In the long theater of great-power rivalry, even the most trusted intermediaries can become targets of ultimatum. On May 27, 2026, President Trump publicly threatened to strike Oman — a nation bound to the United States by more than two centuries of continuous diplomacy — if it cooperates with Iran in levying transit fees on vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz. The warning arrives as a three-month U.S.-Israeli war reshapes the region's order, and as the world's most critical oil chokepoint becomes the stage for a confrontation between sovereign geography and imperial will.
Trump Threatens Military Action Against Oman Over Strait of Hormuz Toll Dispute
Oman will behave just like everybody else, or we'll have to blow them up.
Mark
So Trump is threatening military action over a toll system? That seems like an enormous escalation over what amounts to a fee dispute.
Mimi
It's not really about the fee itself. The strait is the chokepoint for a fifth of the world's oil. If Iran and Oman can impose tolls, they effectively control who moves through and who doesn't. That's leverage Trump sees as unacceptable.
Luke
But we should be clear: Trump said "blow them up." That's a threat. We don't have confirmation he's actually mobilizing forces or that this is anything more than rhetoric meant to intimidate.
Mimi
True. But the context matters. Oman has been publicly criticizing the war, and the administration is clearly frustrated. The foreign minister said America lost control of its foreign policy.
Mark
Why would Oman risk its relationship with the U.S.? They've had ties since 1790.
Mimi
Because Iran is right there. Because they have their own interests in the strait. And because they've always tried to be a neutral broker between Washington and Tehran.
Luke
The legal question is also murky. The U.S. hasn't even signed the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, so it's not clear what international law actually permits here.
Mark
So both sides could claim they're following the rules?
Mimi
Potentially. Oman could implement "service fees" and argue it's not a toll. Iran gets revenue. The U.S. gets angry.
Luke
And we don't know if Oman has actually agreed to anything yet. The reporting says Iran and Oman were "working to implement" a plan, but that's not the same as a done deal.
Mark
What happens if this escalates?
Mimi
Global oil prices spike. Oman loses its mediator role. The U.S.-Oman partnership, which has lasted over two centuries, fractures.
Luke
And we're in the middle of a war that's already three months old. This isn't happening in a vacuum.
Il Polso
- Trump's cabinet-room declaration — 'we'll have to blow them up' — transforms a diplomatic friction into an open military threat against one of America's oldest Arab partners.
- Oman's unique territorial position inside the 21-nautical-mile strait gives it irreplaceable leverage, making it both indispensable to Iran's toll ambitions and a pressure point Washington cannot ignore.
- Omani officials have publicly challenged the administration's war narrative for months, and those statements have quietly poisoned a relationship once defined by quiet cooperation and back-channel trust.
- With Brent crude already above $150 per barrel and 20 percent of global oil shipments at stake, any move to restrict or monetize strait passage threatens to detonate energy markets worldwide.
- Qatar and Pakistan are stepping into the mediation vacuum as Oman's historic neutrality erodes, signaling a realignment of regional diplomatic architecture still taking shape.
In the long theater of great-power rivalry, even the most trusted intermediaries can become targets of ultimatum. On May 27, 2026, President Trump publicly threatened to strike Oman — a nation bound to the United States by more than two centuries of continuous diplomacy — if it cooperates with Iran in levying transit fees on vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz. The warning arrives as a three-month U.S.-Israeli war reshapes the region's order, and as the world's most critical oil chokepoint becomes the stage for a confrontation between sovereign geography and imperial will.
At a cabinet meeting on May 27, 2026, President Trump issued an unambiguous warning to Oman: align with Iran on Strait of Hormuz transit fees, and face military consequences. "Oman will behave just like everybody else, or we'll have to blow them up," he said, later insisting to reporters that the strait would remain open to all nations as international waters. The statement marked a dramatic escalation against a country the United States has called an ally since 1790 — the oldest continuous American diplomatic relationship in the Arab world.
The geography of the strait explains why Oman matters so much. At its narrowest point, the waterway is only 21 nautical miles wide, and Oman is the only nation besides Iran with territorial waters there. That makes Muscat essential to any toll system Iran might impose on passing vessels — a demand Tehran has pressed as part of negotiations to end the U.S.-Israeli war that began in February 2026. Iran's ambassador to France confirmed in May that Tehran and Muscat were actively coordinating on such a scheme.
The relationship between Washington and Muscat had already been deteriorating. In March 2026, Omani Foreign Minister Albusaidi published a pointed essay in The Economist arguing that America had lost control of its own foreign policy, and separately contradicted Trump's stated rationale for the war. U.S. officials told Middle East Eye those remarks had genuinely angered the administration. The sultanate's carefully cultivated neutrality — which had made it a trusted host for nuclear talks and a quiet back channel during regional crises — was visibly fraying.
The legal terrain around strait tolls is ambiguous enough to matter. While international maritime law generally prohibits bordering states from charging transit fees, legal experts note that Oman could frame cooperation with Iran as "piloting" or "service" fees, preserving a veneer of compliance while effectively co-managing one of the world's most consequential chokepoints. Twenty percent of global oil passes through the strait, and energy markets have already registered the strain — Brent crude has surpassed $150 per barrel in Asia.
As Oman's mediating role recedes, Qatar and Pakistan have moved into the space it once occupied. A Trump Organization hotel and golf development currently under construction in Oman adds a quietly transactional dimension to the pressure Washington is applying. What was once a model of quiet, durable alliance now stands at a crossroads — and the outcome will ripple far beyond the Persian Gulf.
During a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, May 27, President Trump issued a stark warning to Oman: cooperate with Iran on imposing transit fees through the Strait of Hormuz, and the country would face military consequences. "Oman will behave just like everybody else, or we'll have to blow them up," Trump said, according to reporting from Middle East Eye. He reinforced the message to reporters afterward, insisting the strait remain open to all nations without restriction. "The strait is going to be open to everybody. Nobody is going to control it…it's international waters."
The threat marks an escalation in the administration's frustration with Muscat, a tension that has been building for months. Oman occupies an unusual position in Middle Eastern geopolitics: it is the only other nation besides Iran with territorial waters in the Strait of Hormuz, which narrows to just 21 nautical miles at its tightest point. That geography makes Oman indispensable to any scheme to levy tolls on passing vessels. Iran has been pressing for the right to charge fees on ships transiting the strait as part of negotiations to end a three-month U.S.-Israeli war that began on February 28, 2026. In May, Iran's ambassador to France told Bloomberg that Tehran and Muscat were working together on implementing such a toll system.
Oman's relationship with the United States runs deeper than most diplomatic partnerships. The two countries established formal ties in 1790, making it the oldest continuous U.S. relationship in the Arab world. Though the U.S. maintains no permanent military bases there, the Navy has long-standing access to Duqm Port on Oman's southern coast under a bilateral agreement. More importantly, Oman has positioned itself as a crucial mediator between Washington and Tehran, hosting previous rounds of nuclear talks and serving as a back channel during regional crises. That role has given the sultanate outsized influence and a carefully maintained appearance of neutrality.
But that neutrality has frayed in recent months. In March 2026, Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr bin Hamad Albusaidi published an opinion piece in The Economist warning that "America has lost control of its own foreign policy." On social media that same month, he contradicted Trump's justification for the war, writing: "Whatever your view of Iran, this war is not of their making." Before the February attack, Albusaidi had made public pleas for negotiations and warned that America was losing credibility in the region. Multiple U.S. officials told Middle East Eye that these statements have angered the Trump administration, which views them as undermining American policy.
The legal framework around strait tolls remains contested. Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea—which the United States has not signed—countries bordering international straits cannot restrict transit or impose charges. However, legal experts cited by Middle East Eye note that Oman could potentially implement "piloting fees" or "service fees" if it chose to cooperate with Iran. The distinction matters because it would allow both countries to claim compliance with international law while effectively controlling traffic through one of the world's most critical chokepoints. Roughly 20 percent of global oil shipments pass through the Strait of Hormuz, and energy markets have already felt the strain: Brent crude has exceeded $150 per barrel in Asia.
Oman's mediation role has already begun to diminish. Qatar and Pakistan have assumed more prominent positions in ongoing negotiations between Washington and Tehran, according to Middle East Eye. The Trump Organization holds a franchise agreement for a luxury hotel and golf course under construction in Oman—a detail that adds another layer to the administration's leverage over the sultanate. Trump's threat represents a sharp departure from the careful diplomacy that has historically defined U.S.-Oman relations, and it signals the administration's willingness to pressure even long-standing allies when regional interests are at stake. As negotiations continue and the three-month war grinds on, the question of who controls the Strait of Hormuz—and whether Oman will risk its historic partnership with Washington to cooperate with Iran—will reverberate through global energy markets and reshape the balance of power in the Persian Gulf.
Citazioni salienti
Oman will behave just like everybody else, or we'll have to blow them up.— President Trump, May 27, 2026
Whatever your view of Iran, this war is not of their making.— Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr bin Hamad Albusaidi, March 2026
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