US allies and rivals reacted cautiously after President Donald Trump said the Strait of Hormuz should be policed, as Iranian threats to strike shipping along the key trade route are causing chaos in global markets.
“Many countries, especially those affected by Iran’s attempt to close the Strait of Hormuz, will send warships to secure the shipping lane,” he posted on Satya Social on Saturday, adding that he hoped China, France, Japan, South Korea, the UK and “others” could offer support.
“The US coordinates with those countries so that everything goes faster, smoother and better. It should always be a team effort and now it will be,” he added in a later post.
Connecting the Persian Gulf to the open ocean, the Strait of Hormuz is a major trade artery through which one-fifth of the world’s oil passes, with around 3,000 ships passing through the corridor each month. But several ships in the region have come under attack since the war began two weeks ago, all but halting trade and causing a dramatic rise in oil prices.
In a phone interview with NBC News on Saturday, Trump said several countries would help keep the strait safe. “Not only have they made the commitment, but they think it’s a great idea,” he said. Energy Secretary Chris Wright told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” on Sunday that he expects China to be a “constructive partner” in reopening the strait.
But the nations listed in Trump’s original post, which are affected by the strait closure, have so far responded strongly to Trump’s request for support.
Tokyo, a close US ally, has not officially responded to Trump’s call. Japan will not immediately dispatch naval vessels at Trump’s request, its foreign ministry told Japanese outlet NHK: “Japan will decide its own response and independent judgment is fundamental.”
The French government did not immediately respond to the request. It has already deployed ships to reassure allies in the wider region and French President Emmanuel Macron has raised the prospect of escorting ships through the strait in the future, with its foreign ministry saying on Saturday that its ships would remain in a “defensive” posture in the eastern Mediterranean.
A spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Washington told CNN that China was calling for an immediate end to the war, with no direct response to Trump’s appeal.
British Energy Secretary Ed Miliband told NBC News’ British broadcast partner Sky News on Sunday that “the best and most decisive way to reopen the Straits is to end this conflict”, although he said the UK was “talking to our allies, including the US”.
He said a “range of things” were being looked at, including the provision of “autonomous mining equipment”.
South Korea’s presidential office said on Sunday it would carefully review the request.
“We are monitoring President Trump’s remarks on social media. South Korea and the United States will continue to communicate closely and carefully review the matter before making a decision,” South Korea’s presidential office told NBC News on Sunday.
While it remains to be seen what action these nations may ultimately take in response to any economic crises, their lukewarm response seems to pour cold water on any hopes Trump had for a quick resolution to the embargo.
“All the countries that Trump named have been quiet, which says a lot,” HA Hellyer, a senior associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute in London, told NBC News. France is “yes,” he said, adding that Macron is also talking about “totally defensive.”
“It’s a long way from a real mission, and I don’t expect one to happen. Most of the investment in my opinion will go into escalation efforts,” he added.
Even if a coalition is formed, Hellyer said, with mines, drones, boats and anti-ship missiles all threats “do not guarantee safe passage,” Michael A. Horowitz, thoughts echoed by geopolitical and security analysts.
“Saving ships is a very big gamble,” he said. “On the operational side, you’re putting military assets in a very narrow corridor, giving Iran multiple opportunities to strike at short range.”
To counter these threats, Horowitz told NBC News, “You need more than air and naval power: You need boots on the ground in key coastal areas.”
In any case, Horowitz said he was skeptical that such power would stabilize markets. “Just one attack is enough to bring traffic to a standstill,” he said. “The bar is really high to create enough confidence to actually lift a shutdown.”
Meanwhile, some countries appear to be trying to negotiate a safe passage with Iran.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi confirmed to CBS News on Sunday that “several countries have approached us who want safe passage for their ships.” He said: “It is up to our military to decide, and they have already decided to allow a group of ships belonging to different countries to pass through.”
Trump, previously bullish about reopening shipping lanes through military force as the US bombards Iran, appeared to concede on Saturday that preventing Tehran from attacking ships would be more challenging.
“We have already destroyed 100% of Iran’s military capability, but sending a drone or two, dropping a mine, or delivering a missile somewhere nearby or in this waterway, no matter how badly they beat them,” he wrote on Truth Social.
The acknowledgment came a day after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth suggested the blocked strategic waterway was not a major concern. “We are dealing with it and don’t have to worry about it,” he told a press conference on Friday.
Meanwhile, Trump’s call to European allies for support in the war comes a week after he told UK Prime Minister Keir Stormer that British aircraft carriers were not needed in the region.
In a Truth Social post addressing Stormer last Saturday, Trump said: “We don’t need them anymore – but we remember. We don’t need people joining the war after we’ve already won!”
Tensions with European allies have risen amid the conflict, with Trump previously clashing with the UK and Spain over the use of their military bases.
“This is not Winston Churchill we’re dealing with,” Trump said, after the stormer refused to allow the US to use British bases as part of its initial strikes, later allowing it to use its bases for “defensive” measures.
A day later, Trump said the US would seek to “cut off all trade with Spain”, a member of the European Union’s single market, after Spain barred US military aircraft from using bases it jointly operates in Andalusia.
