(CNN) — Oman, a historic partner for the United States and proven mediator to Iran, was once again threatened by President Donald Trump over its negotiations with the Islamic Republic, leaving many in the region confused.
Trump’s warning on Monday reiterated a threat he issued in May to “blow up” Oman over its ongoing negotiations with Iran, again concerning the Strait of Hormuz, despite Trump himself agreeing in a signed document that Muscat would “conduct dialogue” with Tehran to define the future administration and maritime services in the strait.
Washington’s former ambassador to Oman, Marc J. Sievers was left “puzzled” on what caused the threats to the Gulf Arab country.
“Perhaps Trump didn’t mean to be taken literally but more the matter of getting the Omani attention, which I’m sure he did,” Sievers told CNN. “It’s hard to think of Admiral Cooper planning bombing raids on Oman,” a reference to US Central Command Chief Adm. Brad Cooper.
Muscat has branded itself as a neutral operator during the war, maintaining relations with Iran even as the latter fired large salvos of missiles and drones at neighboring Arab countries, and sometimes on Oman Throughout the war, it continued dialogue with Iran over ships transiting the vital Strait of Hormuz – which runs through Omani territory – and is currently negotiating with Tehran on managing the waterway despite global concern over Iran’s ambitions to seize the chokepoint.
During the war, Oman allowed vessels to use its sea routes to evade the waterways precariously designated by the Revolutionary Guards.
The former US top diplomat in Oman said Trump’s previous threats “upset” Oman, but Muscat “ought to see risk” in the repeated warnings.
“This is the second time that President Trump has issued (a) threat. … There is obviously something behind it that you would think the Omanis would want to pay attention to,” Sievers said.
It’s unclear how much progress Oman and Iran have made in their talks, or whether Washington has been involved in the ongoing negotiations – an absence that could factor into Trump’s anger toward the Gulf nation.
“(Trump’s) frustration broadly stems from the fact that Muscat pursues an independent policy toward Iran that does not always align with US preferences. Ironically, however, this is precisely what enables Muscat to play the mediating role that Washington often relies upon to facilitate contact with Tehran,” Hasan Alhasan, senior fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) told CNN.
Qatar, another Gulf Arab country that has successfully mediated agreements with Iran, had coordinated its negotiations closely with the US.
“If Oman gets in the way, we’ll bomb the shit out of them,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News’ Trey Yingst.
Muted reaction
In Oman and across the wider region, governments remained quiet and issued no condemnation or rebuke of Trump’s threats. CNN reached out to the Omani Foreign Ministry for comment but has received no response.
Yet Omani social media commentators were critical of Trump’s threats. One commentator, Zakaria Al-Muharrmi, spoke about Oman’s past diplomatic assistance to the US.
“America’s wise leaders know that Oman is the one that freed many detained American citizens in Tehran, and that it is the one that convinced the Houthis to stop shelling American warships, and that it is the key to the solution in the Strait of Hormuz crisis,” Al-Muharrmi wrote on X.
The Omani commentator added that Trump’s “rude language” could lead to Oman freezing its efforts to save Republicans from “rising fuel bills” and an “anticipated loss in the midterm elections”
Another Omani commentator, Abdullah Adawi, said that Trump chose “escalation and threats” against a US ally because it “stuck to its position and its independent decision.”
Abdulkhaleq Abdullah, a political scientist from neighboring United Arab Emirates, said Trump’s threats are “completely rejected” and must be condemned by Gulf Arab countries in the “strongest terms.”
‘Misdirected and short-sighted’
An agreement intended to lead to peace talks between the US and Iran expired Monday, leaving both nations deadlocked in a stalemate over management of the Strait of Hormuz, the future of frozen Iranian funds and Tehran’s nuclear program.
Both countries committed in the Memorandum of Understanding in June to achieve a “final deal in maximum 60 days” but the ceasefire was soon mired by infringements.
Iran had rejected how ships were choosing to transit through the strait and began targeting vessels, and the US launched intensive strikes against Iranian targets in response. The Islamic Republic also fired missiles and drones onto neighboring countries hosting US bases.
Oman and Iran are now engaged in negotiations to resolve how ships cross the Strait of Hormuz, according to Iranian officials. If the issue of movement in the maritime chokepoint is resolved with agreement from Washington and its allies across the region, it may remove a major hurdle towards unlocking further negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program and sanctions.
“Trump’s anger at Oman is both misdirected and short-sighted,” Alhasan, the IISS analyst, said. “It is misdirected because Omani mediation has been sought by successive US administrations including the current one to facilitate talks with Tehran. … It is short sighted because Oman will likely be key to any future US-Iran peace deal and transit regime in the strait that emerges from it,” he said.
“The US, whose strategic credibility in the region is already in shambles, cannot afford to lose a partner as critical as Oman is to the future of one of the world’s most significant and hotly contested maritime choke points.”
The-CNN-Wire
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