Trump Threatens Oman with Bombs, Cuts South Korea Drills
White House Blames Muscat for Collapse of Iran Talks, Punishes Seoul for Refusing to Cooperate
Washington, August 18, 2026 – Geopolitical tensions reached a peak after US President Donald Trump made unprecedented military threats to long-time US ally Oman and at the same time dealt a serious blow to cooperation with South Korea. The White House's actions come at a critical moment in the rebalancing of power in the Middle East and Asia.
Why has Oman found itself under Washington's sights?
According to the revelations of the authoritative publication The Wall Street Journal (wsj.com), Donald Trump has threatened to bomb Oman “to the ground” if the sultanate stands in the way of US efforts to reach a deal with Iran. Leaked intelligence assessments show that Washington is trying to shift the blame onto Oman for the failure of a 60-day deadline for talks with Tehran, which expired on Monday without any result.
The main point of conflict is the strategic Strait of Hormuz. The US administration suspects that Muscat plans to join Iran in imposing fees on passing commercial ships - a red line for the US. For its part, Oman categorically denies such intentions and traditionally tries to balance as a mediator, but Trump directly stated on the air of Fox News (foxnews.com) that the country must comply or the US will take radical military action.
At the same time, on his Truth Social platform, Trump confirmed that his number one goal remains to completely prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
Punitive action against Seoul because of Iran
At the same time as the Middle East crisis, Trump has also caused tremors in the Asia-Pacific region. The US President has ordered the Pentagon and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to drastically scale down the scale of the upcoming joint military exercises with South Korea, “Ulchi Freedom Shield“, reports BBC (bbc.com).
Trump's official reasons for scaling back the exercises are twofold:
- Financial costs: The president again criticized South Korea for not paying enough for American defense and that the exercises cost the American taxpayer too much.
- Refusal to cooperate against Iran: Trump directly accused South Korean President Lee Jae-myun of refusing Washington's request to join the coalition for the “denuclearization of Iran“ with the answer “No, thank you“.
As an additional argument, the American leader highlighted his “excellent personal relationship“ with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, stating that Pyongyang is behaving respectfully and the large-scale maneuvers on the peninsula send an unnecessarily hostile signal.
Reactions and criticism: The truth behind the numbers
Trump's decision has sparked a wave of criticism from analysts and the media. According to a fact-check by CNN (cnn.com), Trump's claims that South Korea pays nothing for its defense are deeply inaccurate, as Seoul has been covering a significant portion of the costs under special agreements since 1991.
Military experts quoted by TIME (time.com), warn that cutting the exercises undermines the 72-year alliance between Washington and Seoul. This comes at an extremely delicate moment, when North Korea continues to actively test ballistic missiles and has sent over 14,000 of its troops to support Russia. Critics emphasize that Trump is punishing a democratic ally because of Iran, while effectively downplaying the threat from Pyongyang, which has historically helped the same Iran in developing missile technology.
As of 5:06 a.m. on August 18, 2026, the situation remains highly dynamic. Markets are reacting nervously to threats around the Strait of Hormuz, and oil continues to fluctuate due to uncertainty about shipping in the region and new economic sanctions that the US Treasury Department is about to announce.