Omanis baffled by Trump’s threat to bomb their country

Democracy Dies in DarknessThe small country, known for discretion and neutrality, was a mediator with Iran at the request of the U.S. Omanis wonder what Trump might have heard that triggered him.Today at 8:43 a.m. EDTA portrait of Oman's Sultan Haitham ‌bin Tariq hangs from the ceiling of the Muntrah Souk in Muscat, Oman on Sept. 7, 2026. (Heidi Levine for The Washington Post). (Heidi Levine/FTWP)MUSCAT, Oman — The threat felt like it came out of nowhere. “If Oman gets in the way,” President Donald Trump told Fox News, referring to his efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, “we’ll bomb the s--- out of them.”