WASHINGTON: Oman assured the United States on Thursday that there are no plans to toll the Strait of Hormuz, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said.
Bessent told a White House press briefing that he spoke with the Omani ambassador about the issue.
"I told him that this was a non-starter and he did not want to risk either the Oman individuals or Omani financial institutions getting sanctioned," Bessent said.
President Donald Trump appeared to threaten Oman, a US ally, on Wednesday when asked about a possible short-term arrangement allowing it and Iran to control Hormuz, saying he would "blow them up" if Muscat did so, AFP reported.
Bessent said on Thursday that the US would sanction anyone trying to charge ships to pass through the Strait.
"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 penalized," Bessent warned in a post on X.
He said the United States 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.
Iran has virtually blocked the strait since the US and Israel launched the war on Iran in late February.
About a fifth of the world's energy supplies normally passes through the waterway and global energy and fertilizer prices have soared as a result of the disruption to shipping.
Oman had mediated talks between Washington and Tehran in Geneva before the war, and has itself come under attack from Iran.
Thursday's comments from Bessent came hours after the Treasury sanctioned the Iranian authority that collects fees for transiting the strait.
Washington extended the threat of sanctions 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."
*With AFP
