US President Donald Trump’s sudden bombing threat to Oman could signal a stunning breakdown in one of the oldest alliances in the Persian Gulf. Speaking to reporters on Wednesday at a White House Cabinet meeting, Trump dropped a bombshell warning, declaring that Oman must behave like everyone else or face being blown up. “Oman will behave just like everybody else or we’ll have to blow them up,” he told reporters at the White House Cabinet meeting. “They understand that. They’ll be fine.” As some thought it might have been a slip of the tongue when Trump meant Iran, the State Department immediately removed all doubt, posting Trump’s comment on social media to ensure the message was received loud and clear.
Trump’s sudden threat may show that he is losing his cool, and possibly also the plot in the Middle East, but it may not be an off-the-cuff remark made out of desperation. The trigger for Trump’s anger was recent reports claiming that Oman has been holding quiet talks with Iran to set up a permanent joint financial system to charge ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz. For Oman, a country that has survived for decades by playing the role of a quiet, neutral middleman between the West and Iran, this high-stakes balancing act has suddenly hit a wall, threatening to pull the peaceful sultanate into the center of a geopolitical firestorm.
