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The United States (US) Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has threatened to target Oman, an ally, if it helps impose a tolling system in the Strait of Hormuz.
Bessent warned in a post on X on Thursday, saying, “Oman, in particular, should know that the US Treasury will aggressively target any actors involved — directly or indirectly — in facilitating tolls for the Strait and any willing partners will be penalised.”
The United States Government will not tolerate any effort to impose a tolling system in the Strait of Hormuz. Oman, in particular, should know that the U.S. Treasury will aggressively target any actors involved – directly or indirectly – in facilitating tolls for the Strait and…
— Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (@SecScottBessent) May 28, 2026
He stated that the US would “not tolerate any effort to impose a tolling system in the Strait of Hormuz,” a reference to Iranian proposals to do so as part of a potential agreement with Washington.
The major waterway, through which about a fifth of the world’s energy supplies usually commute, has been a flashpoint since the US and Israel launched the war on Iran in late February.
Tehran’s retaliatory actions have engulfed the region in violence and seen Iran virtually block the strait, sending global energy and fertiliser prices soaring.
Oman had mediated talks between the United States and Iran in Geneva before the war, and has itself come under attack from Tehran.
Bessent’s threat came hours after the US Treasury sanctioned Iran’s “Persian Gulf Strait Authority,” Tehran’s new agency that collects fees for transiting the strait.
Washington also extended the threat to anyone paying the fees, because they “may be providing support to and receiving services from” Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, and therefore may “be exposed to sanctions risk.”
The United States and Iran accused each other of violating an ongoing truce following an exchange of fire, on Friday, three months after the Middle East war began with a wave of US-Israeli strikes on the Islamic republic.
The latest exchange was the most serious since Washington and Tehran agreed to a ceasefire in April.
The two countries have been holding indirect talks for weeks through mediators in an attempt to end the conflict, but no agreement has been reached so far.
