Trump Threatened to Bomb Oman. Rubio Just Called Them — SkimNews
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- Trump threatened to 'blow up' and 'bomb the shit out of' Oman over Muscat's talks with Tehran about the Strait of Hormuz, yet on September 15 Secretary Rubio phoned Omani counterpart Sayyid Badr al-Busaidi to 'express support for deepening ties' — a former Omani diplomat called the call a 'strategic correction.'
- U.S. officials and senior Houthi (Ansar Allah) representatives met at the U.S. embassy in Muscat with Omani mediation; the Houthis reportedly told U.S. officials they have 'no intention of targeting American vessels.'
- On September 12 Trump stated that Ansar Allah phoned his administration asking Washington to refrain from entering Yemen's conflict; VP JD Vance confirmed direct U.S. contact with the movement two days later.
- Hawkish groups such as the Foundation for Defense of Democracies portray Oman as aligned with the Iran-led camp, but a former Omani diplomat warned that treating Muscat as a threat would eliminate an important diplomatic channel precisely when Washington needs one.
- A former Omani diplomat identified a 'paradoxical dynamic': the more Washington needs Oman as an intermediary, the greater Oman's relevance — but the greater the risk that one side interprets its role as alignment with the other.
- Oman's port and logistics ambitions under Vision 2040 give Muscat direct economic stakes in preventing the arc of maritime insecurity stretching from Yemen's Bab el-Mandab to the Persian Gulf.
Why it matters: The Houthi meeting at the U.S. embassy in Muscat positions Oman as Washington's sole conduit to one of the region's most active armed groups as the Red Sea becomes the 'Western Front' of the US-Iran crisis. For Muscat, keeping that channel open also protects its Vision 2040 port and logistics ambitions, which depend on maritime stability.
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