“The United States government will not tolerate any attempt to implement a Strait of Hormuz toll system. Oman in particular should know that the U.S. Treasury will aggressively pursue all participants – directly or indirectly – involved in facilitating the collection of Strait of Hormuz tolls, and any willing partners will be punished,” he wrote in a post on Portal X.
A day earlier, President Donald Trump threatened to “blow up” Oman if it tried to control the strait with Iran.
“These are international waters and Oman will behave like everyone else or we will have to blow it up,” Trump said at a White House cabinet meeting on Wednesday.
This threat was repeated by the official accounts of the White House and the State Department.
The US gives an ultimatum to its Persian Gulf partner
Oman has so far been a partner of the United States and a frequent intermediary in contacts with Iran.
The warnings appeared after reports, among others: New York Times report on negotiations between Iran and Oman — countries on either side of the Strait of Hormuz — to establish a transit fee system for ships passing through the waterway.
Moreover, Bessent's warning came just after Axios reported that the US and Iran had reached an agreement on the terms of a 60-day extension of the truce, which would open the Strait of Hormuz.
Bessent previously talked about imposing sanctions on the body created by Iran to manage the Strait of Hormuz, and also announced new sanctions aimed at cutting off Iranian airlines from airports, ticket sales and refueling systems. Since the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran, Iranian airlines have not operated any international flights.
US-Iran Agreement – 60-Day Ceasefire
U.S. and Iranian negotiators reached an agreement on the framework for an end-of-war agreement, including a 60-day extension of the truce, although it did not receive the final approval of the U.S. president, Axios reported on Thursday. White House officials confirmed the reports.
As reported by the journalist of the website Barak Ravid, the preliminary agreement (“memorandum of understanding”) concerns the extension of the ceasefire by 60 days and the commencement of negotiations on Iran's nuclear program.
