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US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that Oman has assured Washington that it has no plans of tolling the Strait of Hormuz with Iran and wants to continue the good relations between the two countries.
Speaking to the reporters at a White House briefing, Bessent said that he has a call with the Omani Ambassador and made it clear that the tolling on the Strait of Hormuz is a non-starter. He added Oman assured that it did not want to take any steps that risk the safety of people and the country's economy. "I had a call with the Omani ambassador this morning, and he assured me that there were no plans for tolling the strait. As he said, our countries have had 200 years of good relations. He wants to have another 200 more, and, you know, I told him that this was a non-starter, and he did not want to risk either the Omani individuals or Omani financial institutions getting sanctioned." This development comes after Scott Bessent warned Oman against any involvement in allegedly facilitating a tolling system in the Strait of Hormuz with Iran, stating that Washington will not tolerate such efforts and will take action against those involved. In a post on X, Bessent said the US would take strict action against any entities involved in facilitating such a system, warning Oman in particular. "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 any willing partners will be penalised. All nations should reject outright any efforts by Iran to disrupt the free flow of commerce," the post read. The Strait of Hormuz, a key global energy corridor, has frequently been at the centre of geopolitical tensions between Iran and the US since the start of the conflict in West Asia due to its strategic importance for oil and gas shipments. This comes a day after US President Donald Trump warned Oman not to interfere in the negotiations related to the strategic waterway while rejecting the idea of a short-term deal that would allow Iran and Oman to control the critical waterway on which the world's oil and gas supply largely depends. "Oman will behave just like everybody else, or we'll have to blow 'em up," he said. On Wednesday, the US also imposed sanctions on Iran's Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA), accusing Tehran of using the body to "extort" commercial vessels transiting through the Strait of Hormuz and "funnelling" revenue to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The move, announced by the US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), adds the PGSA to the Treasury Department's Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list as part of the Trump administration's intensified "Economic Fury" campaign aimed at increasing pressure on Iran amid ongoing regional tensions. According to the Treasury Department, the PGSA was established by Iran to manage requests from ships seeking passage through the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz. US officials alleged the authority works closely with the IRGC and the IRGC Navy to direct vessel traffic and impose "illegitimate tolls" on international maritime commerce. On Monday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei stated Iran is working with Oman to establish a mechanism for the safe passage of ships through the Strait and that the efforts by Iran and Oman to develop a protocol for maritime safety represent a "responsible step", and added that it was "natural" for services related to maritime safety and environmental protection to involve certain fees. (ANI)
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