Trump threatens to bomb US ally Oman if it 'gets in the way' over Iran deal

# Why This Matters The threat against Oman represents a fundamental shift in how the United States exercises power in the Middle East—replacing diplomatic leverage with coercive threats against allies. Oman has historically served as a neutral broker in regional conflicts, hosting back-channel negotiations between adversaries and maintaining strategic independence that actually serves U.S. interests by preserving influence across factional lines. If Trump follows through or uses similar threats elsewhere, Gulf allies like the UAE and Saudi Arabia will likely accelerate their hedging strategies, deepening ties with China and Russia and reducing U.S. access to bases, intelligence, and military staging areas critical to operations across the region. The warning is especially destabilizing given Oman's geographic control of the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly one-third of global seaborne oil passes; coercing or alienating the nation that can facilitate smooth passage creates the opposite condition—uncertainty that will immediately spike energy prices and risk economic disruption across allies and adversaries alike.