What happened in this Geopolitics story?

Secretary of State Marco Rubio's September 15 call with Oman's foreign minister signals that Washington still needs Muscat as a diplomatic intermediary with Iran and the Houthis, despite President Trump's past threats to bomb the sultanate.

What is a key fact in this story? (1)

**Trump** previously threatened to "blow up" and "bomb the shit out of" Oman in response to Muscat's talks with Tehran about the future status of the Strait of Hormuz

What is a key fact in this story? (2)

**Rubio** spoke by phone with Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr al-Busaidi on September 15 and "expressed support for deepening ties between Oman and the United States," per a State Department press release

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Trump threatened to bomb Oman. Rubio still needs it — SkimNews

By Responsible Statecraft · Summarized & edited by Kapil Samant · 2026-09-21

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Trump previously threatened to "blow up" and "bomb the shit out of" Oman in response to Muscat's talks with Tehran about the future status of the Strait of Hormuz
Rubio spoke by phone with Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr al-Busaidi on September 15 and "expressed support for deepening ties between Oman and the United States," per a State Department press release
US officials and senior Ansar Allah representatives met at the US embassy in Muscat with Omani mediation; during the meeting, the Houthis reportedly told US officials they have no intention of targeting American vessels
Trump stated on September 12 that the Houthis phoned his administration and asked Washington to refrain from entering the Yemen conflict; two days later, Vice President JD Vance confirmed Washington was in direct contact with the Houthi movement
Oman has direct economic stakes in maritime stability through its Vision 2040 ports and logistics agenda — conflict in or around the Bab el-Mandab would undermine the commerce and energy flows those hubs depend on
A former Omani diplomat called the Rubio call a "strategic correction," saying Washington "needs a functioning relationship with Muscat" even as hawkish groups like the Foundation for Defense of Democracies portray Oman as an untrustworthy, Iran-aligned actor
The arrangement carries a built-in paradox for Muscat: the more Washington relies on Oman as an intermediary, the greater the risk one side reads its mediating role as alignment with the other

Why it matters: With Yemen's Red Sea coast emerging as the "Western Front" of the US-Iran crisis, Oman is now the only functioning US diplomatic channel to both Tehran and the Houthis — meaning any breakdown in US-Oman ties would simultaneously sever American negotiating access to two adversaries at the moment Washington most needs off-ramps.