https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/27/donald-trump-oman-threat-strait-hormuz
US president calls on US ally to ‘behave … or else we’ll have to blow them up’ in casual aside during cabinet meeting
Donald Trump has threatened to “blow up” Oman if it fails to “behave” in a casual aside during a cabinet meeting, as the US scrambles to reopen the strait of Hormuz.
The US president made the threat after reports of talks between Iran and Oman about jointly charging a toll for ships passing through the crucial waterway, which has been all but closed since the start of the US-Israel war on Iran.
“The strait is going to be open to everybody,” Trump declared on Tuesday. “Nobody’s going to control it. We’re going to watch over it. We’ll watch over it. But nobody’s going to control it. That’s part of the negotiation that we have.”
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In an extraordinary threat, he added: “Oman will behave just like everybody else. Or else we’ll have to blow them up. They understand that. They’ll be fine.”
The White House did not immediately clarify whether Trump had misspoken, and Oman’s embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/27/donald-trump-oman-threat-strait-hormuz
