MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
President Trump's war with Iran is now in its sixth month. There is no agreement on a path forward. Today, a ship was attacked trying to exit the Strait of Hormuz, and the United Arab Emirates says Iran fired missiles at the UAE today for the first time in nearly three months. Trump is also threatening to bomb not Iran but Oman. He told Fox News the U.S. would bomb Oman, which is a U.S. ally, if it, quote, "gets in the way." NPR international correspondent Aya Batrawy is with us to take a closer look at this. Hey there.
AYA BATRAWY, BYLINE: Hey.
KELLY: Welcome to Washington. You are in the studio in Washington. I know you're...
BATRAWY: Yes.
KELLY: ...About to head back to Dubai. Just say more about the situation created by this bombing threat to Oman.
BATRAWY: I mean, you know, I think the situation with Oman really highlights the uncertainty of this region. Oman is a quiet corner of the Gulf. It borders the Strait of Hormuz, and it's long been a mediator between Washington and Tehran. And their foreign minister says there was real progress there being made on nuclear talks when Israel and the U.S. bombed Iran in February. And Oman has been critical of the war throughout. So they've been meeting with the Iranians for weeks about the shared management of the strait, which they both border, and that includes, you know, discussion around fees maybe being collected from ships, which would be a new thing for this waterway, where, you know, before the war, 20% of the world's oil was freely flowing.
And I think that's why Trump for a second time in this war, just this week, threatened Oman. Oman has been allowing ships, though, to use their waterway to transit the strait. But one of those vessels was struck today, according to maritime trackers, and it was actually the Omani coast guard that helped the crew. And, you know, another example of Gulf countries being caught in the middle, by the way, is that, as you mentioned, you know, Iran fired missiles toward the UAE, and that can really hamper Dubai's economy and deter tourists from coming back after this summer heat.
KELLY: Let me bring one other country in the region into this conversation - Saudi Arabia. This - the crown prince of Saudi Arabia has a close relationship with President Trump. What's the Saudi position on all this?
BATRAWY: The Saudi position is that right now they're being forced to use alternative routes to get their oil out. But those routes, one of them at least, is under threat now - the main one - by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis. But regardless, throughout the war, the Saudis have been messaging very clearly that they want de-escalation and, at the same time, an Iranian neighbor that doesn't permanently control the Strait of Hormuz. So they're willing to work with arrangements that aren't ideal until there can be a real agreement in place between Iran and the U.S. Abdulaziz Sager, he chairs the Gulf Research Center in the Saudi capital, Riyadh. I reached him today. He told me Gulf countries are now dealing with a war that they never asked for and that was launched by Israel's prime minister and President Trump.
ABDULAZIZ SAGER: To start with the basic thing, Saudi were not consulted about this war. Second, whatever promises from the American to deliver on Iran was not delivered.
BATRAWY: And he also, however, credits Trump for taking out or at least severely setting back Iran's nuclear program, but he also says that Saudi Arabia wants a decisive and clear policy from Trump. Have a listen.
SAGER: We need to revisit the whole security architecture of the region. And in my opinion, there is no security architecture without the two, without the U.S. and without Iran.
BATRAWY: And so what he's saying here is that Saudi Arabia, and here I will add also Qatar, Oman and even the UAE, they have to live with the geographical reality - right? - that Iran is their neighbor and that both the U.S. and Iran are determining the stability of this region.
KELLY: Stay with the stability of the region. I mean, all the countries we're talking about here, they're huge global energy producers. They cannot get oil and gas flowing through the strait. What is the knock-on effect?
BATRAWY: I mean, we can feel it right here at home in the U.S. AAA says gas is up 30% today from last year. Diesel, which is running the trucks and tractors for farming, is up nearly 50%, and jet fuel is up around 70% from last year. You will know that if you tried to fly in the U.S. this summer.
KELLY: Oh, yes.
BATRAWY: But the - yeah. But the International Air Transport Association just released figures this week for 2026. It shows net profits are down across the world, from the United States to Europe, but the Middle East is especially hit hard. Listen to this. They had $7 billion in profit last year. Now, they're in the red by $4 billion, and that is a direct result not just of the high fuel cost but also disruptions to air travel and, frankly, less people coming to the Gulf for business and tourism.
KELLY: NPR's Aya Batrawy, thank you.
BATRAWY: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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