Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent delivered a pointed warning to Oman on Thursday, escalating tensions over the critical waterway known as the Strait of Hormuz.
The warning came after President Trump publicly stated that Oman should “behave or we’ll have to blow ’em up,” raising the stakes in an already tense diplomatic standoff.
Bessent took to social media to make the administration’s position unmistakably clear, leaving little room for ambiguity in his message to the nation.
“The United States Government will not tolerate any effort to impose a tolling system in the Strait of Hormuz,” Bessent wrote in the post.
The Treasury Secretary’s statement directly referenced a reported plan that had drawn the attention and ire of the Trump administration in the days prior.
The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most strategically vital shipping corridors, through which a significant portion of global energy supplies pass regularly.
Any disruption or imposed tolling system in that waterway would have far-reaching consequences for international trade and energy markets worldwide.
Trump’s blunt language signaled that the administration was prepared to take a hard line against any nation seeking to exert control over the strait’s passage.
Bessent’s follow-up warning on Thursday morning suggested a coordinated effort within the administration to send a unified and firm message to Oman.
The Treasury Secretary’s involvement indicated that the United States was prepared to deploy economic pressure as part of its broader response strategy.
The episode underscored the Trump administration’s willingness to use sharp and direct rhetoric when addressing what it views as threats to American strategic and economic interests abroad.
Both Trump’s public comments and Bessent’s formal statement made clear that Washington views free passage through the Strait of Hormuz as a non-negotiable priority for the United States.
