On Monday morning, President Donald Trump issued a blunt warning to America’s erstwhile ally: “If Oman gets in the way, we’ll bomb the shit out of them.” It was another one of his un-diplomatic jabs at a longtime friend—this time for the possibility that Oman might prove helpful to Iran in ending the war. But if Trump’s aggressive, crude attitude towards an ally isn’t confusing enough, it’s also another example of how Trump’s sprawling efforts at personal enrichment since he returned to office have only made US foreign policy more complicated.

Because, of course, Trump has a lavish golf course and real estate development deal, right in Oman, on the edge—literally, the cliff’s edge—of the Gulf of Oman, which is just a few dozen miles from the embattled Strait of Hormuz. And the incredibly lucrative terms of the deal—as is the case with most economic opportunities in absolute monarchies such as Oman—were granted to Trump and his business partners with the blessing of the Omani........

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