‘Oman's stance puzzling,' Frmr. US ambassador tells ‘Post’ as Gulf state silent on Hormuz plans

The impact of said silence, Sievers said, has “undermined their reputation” in the eyes of Washington.

“The Iranians from fairly early on have tried to have a joint mechanism with the Omanis to control who has access and to charge some kind of crossing fee, and that’s been what was really – specifically, I think – the issue that got Trump’s attention,” he explained.

Despite the threat, Sievers said he didn’t “believe anyone in CENTCOM is thinking about bombing Oman,” and that Trump had likely made the comment “to make a point or for effect.”

Nonetheless, the fiery rhetoric pointed to a significant fall in Washington’s relationship with Oman, which had widely used its reputation as a neutral state to mediate between the West and Iran’s axis.

Oman now also sits largely outside the consensus of other Gulf nations, which, despite having their own divisions in the “complicated” region, have generally agreed that the Strait “must be opened, that there must not be any restrictions or tolls or efforts to discriminate between those shipping depending on where [they are] coming from, and that there should be some kind of guarantees of an end to Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks going forward.”

Oman has also been subjected to far fewer Iranian attacks than its neighbors, especially the United Arab Emirates, which enjoys close connections with both Washington and Jerusalem as a member of the Abraham Accords.

In the Islamic regime’s vision for Hormuz, vessels seeking to transit the route would be required to disclose ownership, insurance, crew manifests, and cargo before being granted a permit, and all Israeli-linked vessels would be banned, while US ships would face severe restrictions.

Noting that even China, the larger buyer of Iranian oil, condemned plans to charge a fee to cross Hormuz, Sievers said he didn’t “get the logic” in Oman’s seeming complicity, especially as it has likely cost the country its formerly influential position as a mediator. The country had previously hosted a number of rounds of negotiations for a nuclear agreement between Tehran and Washington.

“I think the US has already pretty much removed Oman from the list of mediators,” he said, pointing to the fact that Washington is now looking increasingly at Qatar and Pakistan to mediate with Iran.

“The Omanis really haven’t been involved since the beginning of the war, and that’s, at least from the US point of view, a conscious decision because they did not behave as a neutral mediator.”

While the relationship has no doubt been damaged, the WSJ reported that Oman has continued to assist American ships by providing navigational guidance, search-and-rescue services, and medical assistance to ship crews.