Trump’s outbursts rattle Gulf allies

{"text":[[{"start":6.65,"text":"Two years ago, Donald Trump’s family business said the $500mn luxury hotel and golf resort it was jointly launching in Oman would elevate the Gulf nation’s “status as a premier global destination”."}],[{"start":20.65,"text":"Fast forward to last week, and the US president was threatening to bomb the country."}],[{"start":26.5,"text":"Initially, some in Muscat believed Trump had misspoken, and must have meant Iran, before the US state department posted a video of him warning Oman to “behave like everybody else or we’ll have to blow them up”. "}],[{"start":38.95,"text":"The extraordinary outburst against a longtime US ally that has served as a regional mediator for years was fuelled by Trump’s suspicion that the Gulf nation supported Iran’s push to levy charges on vessels navigating the Strait of Hormuz."}],[{"start":53.900000000000006,"text":"But analysts said the threat also illustrated Trump’s frustration at the failure of his administration to force Iran to reopen the vital waterway and ease the global energy crisis caused by its closure, leading him to redirect his ire on to regional allies."}],[{"start":71,"text":"“In his quest to find and announce any strategic gain from the Iran war, Trump is putting pressure on countries that, in his view, owe him, such as Saudi Arabia, or complicate his efforts, such as Oman,” said Emile Hokayem at the International Institute for Strategic Studies."}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":90.2,"text":"Hokayem characterised Trump’s view as: “If Iran can’t give him a win, then the Gulf states should. It speaks to his own frustration with the whole situation and demonstrates how oblivious he can be to their own interests.”"}],[{"start":102.25,"text":"In other remarks last week, Trump said it should be “mandatory” for Arab and Muslim countries including Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Qatar to normalise relations with Israel as part of a US deal with Iran. "}],[{"start":114.35,"text":"This is despite many of them blaming Israel for the war, viewing it as an increasingly belligerent force destabilising the region, and tying normalisation to the establishment of a Palestinian state."}],[{"start":126.35,"text":"“He’s trying to quieten the pro-Israeli lobby in the US and shift the blame on to the Gulf,” said an Arab official. However, he added that Oman could also have better managed its relations with Trump."}],[{"start":137.7,"text":"It gained a reputation as a trusted partner that Washington turned to mediate with Iran, a role it was playing a day before the US joined Israel in launching the war. "}],[{"start":147.89999999999998,"text":"While Muscat has sought to maintain its neutrality since the war broke out on February 28, it has angered the US by openly criticising the conflict."}],[{"start":157.34999999999997,"text":"Oman was openly frustrated by Trump’s abandonment of diplomacy as it felt a deal was close, and accused the US and Israel of waging an illegal war. After Iran retaliated with attacks against US allies in the region, it was by far the most dovish of the Arab countries that were shocked by Tehran’s ferocious response. "}],[{"start":176.69999999999996,"text":"This reflected Muscat’s instinct to project its neutrality in a volatile region and awareness of its vulnerabilities to larger neighbours. But it also meant Oman has suffered far fewer attacks than other Gulf states."}],[{"start":189.49999999999997,"text":"“Our neutrality stands for the cause of peace: the cornerstone of our national security and our unique gift to the world,” Oman’s foreign minister Badr Albusaidi said on X early in the war. "}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":202.24999999999997,"text":"Busaidi, who led prewar US-Iran mediation efforts, later posted that Oman was working with the Islamic republic to ensure safe passage through the strait, while Tehran has insisted it wanted to retain control over the waterway through which about a fifth of the world’s oil and gas normally passes. "}],[{"start":219.64999999999998,"text":"He has also called for “pragmatic” solutions to “ensure lasting freedom of navigation”. But a person briefed on the talks said Muscat had “never considered the idea of tolls, and the commitment to international law and freedom of navigation is unwavering”. "}],[{"start":234.49999999999997,"text":"“We are considering the possibility of lawful charges for services rendered in the future to cover environmental mitigation of the waterway, enhanced navigational management including pilotage and security,” the person said."}],[{"start":247.54999999999998,"text":"Oman’s more dovish stance towards Iran has put it at odds not just with the US but also Gulf neighbours who vehemently oppose any fee-based system for the waterway."}],[{"start":258.84999999999997,"text":"US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent followed up Trump’s warning by threatening to levy sanctions on Oman or “any actor involved — directly or indirectly — in facilitating tolls for the strait”. "}],[{"start":270.7,"text":"He later said Oman’s ambassador to the US assured him that Muscat had “no plans” to back tolling. "}],[{"start":278.45,"text":"Oman has also resisted US pressure to join the Trump-brokered Abraham Accords, which led the United Arab Emirates and three other Arab states to normalise relations with Israel five years ago. It is the only Gulf nation not to sign up to the president’s so-called Board of Peace to rebuild Gaza."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":297.3,"text":"Jon Alterman, at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said successive US administrations valued Oman’s role and had “some empathy for their position”, given its proximity to Iran."}],[{"start":309.95,"text":"Now Trump’s outbursts risk fuelling broader Gulf wariness about US policy unpredictability, a long-running theme that has been exacerbated during the president’s second term and is expected to cause some to hedge their dependence on Washington by deepening other relationships, he added."}],[{"start":326.7,"text":"“It reinforces their concerns about Trump that, on the one hand, he can be won over, but it doesn’t mean he stays won over,” Alterman said. “There’s some unpredictability that the president sees as giving him leverage, but in the long term pushes countries to hedge and diversify.” "}],[{"start":343.34999999999997,"text":"Kristin Diwan, at the Arab Gulf States Institute, said even if there was “some unease with” Oman’s stance, “none of the Gulf states want to see one of their partners being threatened with bombing”."}],[{"start":355.29999999999995,"text":"“They know that they need the US for their security, but they also know . . . they can’t rely on the US anymore,” she said. "}],[{"start":364.19999999999993,"text":"Bader al-Saif, a Kuwaiti academic, also noted how Oman was far from the first Gulf state to face Trump’s abrasive style of diplomacy. "}],[{"start":372.8999999999999,"text":"Trump singled out Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during a speech in March at a Saudi-hosted investment conference in Miami. After initially praising the kingdom’s leader, the US president said: “he [Prince Mohammed] didn’t think he’d be kissing my ass.” He later mocked Kuwait for mistakenly shooting down three US jets in March. "}],[{"start":392.7999999999999,"text":"Yet Gulf states, including Oman, have responded to such outbursts with diplomatic silence. "}],[{"start":398.5499999999999,"text":"“This is his unfortunate style,” al-Saif said of Trump. “We can’t allow him to drag us into his way of operations — it’s not how we respond. We’re not in a boxing match.” "}],[{"start":414.09999999999985,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1780897204_5255.mp3"}