Donald Trump is set to announce that a coalition of countries will escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz, according to a report.
The US president is pressuring America’s allies, including Britain, to accompany vessels as Iran’s shutdown of the critical shipping channel threatens to worsen a spiralling economic crisis.
Members of the group, led by the US, are still discussing if operations in the strait would commence before or after the end of hostilities. Mr Trump is set to announce the coalition this week, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The US president said on Sunday his administration was talking to seven countries about helping to secure the strait.
“I’m demanding that these countries come in and protect their own territory, because it is their territory,” Mr Trump told reporters on board Air Force One on Sunday evening.
He declined to reveal which governments his administration had contacted. But Mr Trump has previously appealed to China, France, Japan, South Korea and Britain for support with opening the strait.
The UK and other countries have been wary of committing publicly to deploying their forces to the Middle East given the risk of provoking Tehran, which has placed mines throughout the strait and threatened retaliation.
However, Britain and member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council released a joint statement on Sunday condemning the Islamic Republic’s chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz and affirming their right to “take all necessary measures to defend their security and stability and protect their territories, citizens and residents”.
Reports of the coalition agreement came as Britain resists the US president’s appeal for a “team effort” to reopen the waterway, where traffic has slowed to a trickle since Iran warned it would set fire to any vessel attempting to pass through.
On Sunday, Sir Keir Starmer ruled out sending warships even as he held a call with Mr Trump to discuss the “importance of reopening the Strait of Hormuz”.
Ed Miliband, the Energy Secretary, said the Government was “intensively looking” at mechanisms to restore the flow of ships through the channel, but did not commit to a firm plan.
The price of crude oil has consistently spiked to more than $100 a barrel, sending worldwide markets into freefall and driving the White House into panic mode over soaring petrol costs.
Prices jumped further on Monday morning after the US struck a key Iranian production facility on Kharg Island at the weekend and Mr Trump hinted at a second attack “just for fun”.
Chris Wright, the US energy secretary, said the Trump administration aims to bring prices down in “a few more weeks”, but cautioned that “there are no guarantees in war”.
Several other countries, including Germany, France and South Korea, have poured cold water on Mr Trump’s coalition.
France refused the US president’s request, with Catherine Vautrin, the armed forces minister, stating that her country’s stance would remain “defensive and protective” and France would not be forced into the war.
Johann Wadephul, Germany’s foreign minister, said he is “sceptical” about an expansion of the EU’s Aspides naval mission – which is currently deployed to prevent Houthi attacks off the coast of Yemen – into the Strait of Hormuz because the operation “hasn’t been effective” at protecting ships in the Red Sea.
“That’s why I’m very sceptical whether an expansion of Aspides into the Strait of Hormuz could provide more security,” Mr Wadephul told ARD.
The 27 EU member states are set to discuss the idea at a foreign affairs meeting on Monday.
The White House declined to comment on reports about the coalition to The Wall Street Journal.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/03/16/trump-to-announce-coalition-escort-tankers-strait-of-hormuz/
Comments
Post a Comment