Trump Warns Oman Over Strait of Hormuz Control Amid Iran Negotiations

President Trump made his position unmistakable during a cabinet meeting at the White House on Wednesday: the Strait of Hormuz will not be jointly managed by Iran and Oman, will not be controlled by any single nation, and will remain under American watch. When asked directly whether he would accept a short-term arrangement giving those two countries authority over the strategic waterway, he offered no hedging. "No, the strait's going to be open to everybody," he said. "It's international waters. Nobody's going to control it. We're going to watch over it."

The warning came with teeth. "Oman will behave just like everybody else or we'll have to blow 'em up," Trump told reporters, a blunt assertion of consequence for any nation that might test American resolve over one of the world's most critical shipping lanes. The Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly one-fifth of global oil passes, has been a flashpoint throughout the Iran-US standoff, and control of it sits at the center of ongoing negotiations between Washington and Tehran.

The immediate trigger for Trump's remarks was a report from Iranian state television claiming to have obtained an unofficial draft agreement between Iran and the United States. According to that account, the deal would restore commercial shipping through the strait to prewar levels within a month and establish joint Iran-Oman management of traffic flow. The framework also proposed that the United States lift its blockade of Iranian ports and withdraw military forces from Iran's vicinity. The White House dismissed the entire report as fabricated, but the very existence of such claims—and their circulation through Iranian media—signaled that negotiations were touching on the most sensitive territorial and strategic questions.

Oman, the small Gulf nation positioned at the mouth of the strait, has been actively engaged in back-channel diplomacy on the issue. On May 24, just days before Trump's warning, Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi met with Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi to discuss freedom of navigation and regional developments. The two sides exchanged views on maritime safety, trade flows, and supply chains in accordance with international law. During that meeting, Al Busaidi received a verbal message from Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi regarding the ongoing talks with Washington. The message emphasized both countries' commitment to restoring safe and sustainable freedom of navigation through the strait.

Oman's diplomatic footwork reveals a regional actor trying to position itself as a stabilizing force, one that can speak to both Iran and the West. But Trump's warning suggests the United States views such mediation with suspicion—or at least wants to ensure that no arrangement emerges that might dilute American influence over the waterway. The president's language was unambiguous: the strait belongs to no one nation, but it will be watched over by the United States. For Oman, caught between a rising power in Iran and the military might of America, the message was clear: alignment with Iran on this question carries risk. For Iran, still negotiating with Washington, the statement underscored how far apart the two sides remain on fundamental questions of sovereignty and control. The talks continue, but Trump has drawn a line that appears non-negotiable.