Trump Threatens to Bomb Oman Over Strait of Hormuz as US-Iran Deadline Expires

US President Donald Trump

Trump Threatens to Bomb Oman Over Strait of Hormuz as US-Iran Deadline Expires

President Donald Trump has issued a stark warning to Oman, threatening military action if the US ally interferes with American efforts to secure control over the strategic Strait of Hormuz, as a crucial 60-day deadline for US-Iran negotiations expires without resolution. In a phone interview with Fox News chief foreign correspondent Trey Yingst on Monday, Trump declared: “If Oman gets in the way, we’ll bomb the s—- out of them” . The threat comes as tensions over the vital maritime waterway escalate and the June 17 Memorandum of Understanding between Washington and Tehran officially lapses .

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office later on Monday, the president was asked to elaborate on his earlier remarks and did not walk back the threat, instead saying: “I don’t think they behaved very well, but we’d handle them very easily, just like we do other things” . When questioned about his recent suggestion that he would declare the Strait of Hormuz a US territory, Trump responded: “We have total control over the strait” . This is not the first time Trump has targeted Oman with aggressive rhetoric, as CNN reports that the president previously threatened Oman at a meeting in May, saying “Oman will behave just like everybody else, or we’ll have to blow ’em up” . The White House has yet to issue an official comment on the latest threats against Oman, according to NBC News . Oman, a longstanding US ally that borders Yemen, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia, has been engaged in separate negotiations with Iran over the status of the strategic waterway, and last Saturday, Iran’s semi-official Mehr News Agency disclosed that Tehran had reached an agreement with Oman on a plan for traffic through the strait .

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Monday marked the end of a 60-day Memorandum of Understanding signed on June 17, 2026, under which both countries agreed to cease hostilities and negotiate an end to the war while addressing Iran’s nuclear programme. However, talks have stalled over the issue of control of the Strait of Hormuz, and neither side appears willing to extend the agreement. The impasse has had immediate consequences for global shipping, with maritime traffic tracker MarineTraffic reporting that shipping through the Strait of Hormuz nearly ground to a halt over the weekend, with just 13 ships passing through, including only three on Sunday. Meanwhile, international benchmark Brent crude oil broke above $90 per barrel, rising 2.7% to its highest level of the day, reflecting market anxiety over the potential disruption to one of the world’s most critical oil transit chokepoints, through which approximately 20% of global petroleum passes .

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Esmaeil Baghaei, has dismissed the 60-day timeframe, stating that “gross” US violations rendered the deadline “entirely moot” and insisting that “there is no such thing as a 60-day deadline in the text of the memorandum of understanding, and the Islamic Republic of Iran never formulates its policies under pressure, ultimatums, or time constraints” . He further explained that the memorandum merely provided a “60-day window for talks on two axes—sanctions relief and the nuclear issue—which could be extended if no result was reached” . However, due to what he described as “the blatant and widespread violation of the June 18 memorandum of understanding by the United States just a few weeks after its signing, no talks were initiated,” rendering the timeframe irrelevant . Baghaei also emphasised that Iran’s armed forces are “closely monitoring all movements with full vigilance” and that the country is prepared to respond if attacked, while Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi confirmed that messages are being exchanged through mediators but clarified that “this does not mean negotiations at all” .

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In a separate development, Trump has demanded that Tehran “put up the white flag of surrender” and stated that the United States is “in no hurry” to make a deal, despite a backchannel remaining open with Tehran . The president also floated the idea of declaring the Strait of Hormuz a US territory, telling reporters: “After we finish defeating Iran, which is being very badly defeated, I’ll be declaring the Hormuz Strait a territory of the United States” , later adding: “I like the idea of declaring it a territory” . However, analysts have largely dismissed the declaration as a pressure tactic rather than a serious policy proposal, with Adel al-Ghurairi, an Iraqi political analyst and professor at Baghdad University, telling Xinhua that the statement “could put political pressure on Tehran, strengthen Washington’s position in talks, and send a message to countries concerned about energy security” . Similarly, Ahmed Al-Mufti, a Sudanese international relations expert, described it as “a negotiating tactic aimed at raising US demands before moving toward more realistic arrangements” .

With the MoU expired and both sides hardening their positions, the Strait of Hormuz remains a critical flashpoint, with Qatar, Pakistan, and Oman continuing diplomatic efforts to mediate, though the end of the agreement could determine whether the conflict moves toward renewed negotiations or another dangerous escalation. Analysts note that while the United States has strong naval, air, and intelligence capabilities in the region, maintaining permanent control over the waterway would face significant challenges, as Mustafa Ibrahim, a Palestinian political analyst, observed that “if Washington truly wants to end the confrontation, it must shift from coercion and maximum pressure to negotiations that address Iran’s security and political interests” . The real question, he added, is not whether Washington can project military power, but whether that power can deliver a political settlement that ensures the stability of one of the world’s most critical maritime chokepoints.