President Trump said Monday that he was frustrated more countries aren’t stepping up to join US forces in keeping the Strait of Hormuz clear for shipping, noting he’s keeping a list of those who are willing to help and those who are not.
“We’re hammering [Iran’s] capacity to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, with more than 30 mine-laying ships destroyed,” the president said in the White House East Room.
Trump added that he had approached seven countries to help guard the critical waterway, through which one-fifth of the world’s oil passes annually.
“We’ll give you a list,” he told reporters, adding that Secretary of State Marco Rubio would announce the assisting nations when ready. “We’re going to have some good help, and I think we’re going to be disappointed in some nations, too. And I’ll let you know who those nations are.”
Trump declined to give specific names of countries he was speaking with, but he noted that 95% of Japan’s oil imports pass through the strait. He added that 90% of China’s oil passes through Hormuz, along with 35% of South Korea’s oil imports.
“Iran has always used that as an economic weapon, and it’s not going to be able to be used very long,” Trump said of the waterway linking the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea.
“Numerous countries have told me they’re on the way. Some are very enthusiastic about it,” added the president, continuing that some “weren’t that enthusiastic, and the level of enthusiasm — that matters to me.”
“These people literally need it,” he said, “and they should be in here very happily helping us.”
Some of the unnamed nations, Trump said, are “fairly local,” while others are farther away and “have to travel an ocean.”
“I do a hard sell on them, because my attitude is, we don’t need anybody,” Trump said, describing his conversations. “We’re the strongest nation in the world.”
“I’m almost doing it in some cases, not because we need them, but because I want to find out how they react. Because I’ve been saying for years that if we ever did need them, they won’t be there, not all of them, but they won’t be there.”
The president also revealed he spoke with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron on Sunday.
“He’s been – on a scale of zero to 10 – I’d say he’s been an eight. Not perfect, but it’s France,” Trump noted.
“I was not happy with the UK,” he said. “They should be involved enthusiastically. We’ve been protecting these countries for years with NATO.”
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer told reporters in London earlier Monday that no plan had yet been agreed to safeguard the Strait of Hormuz but noted allies were working hard with President Trump to get one in place.
“We are trying to pull together both partners and the plan in relation to the strait,” Starmer said.
“It’ll have to be something which is agreed by as many partners as possible, is my strong view, and we’re not at that stage yet, but we’re working hard. I discussed it with President Trump yesterday.”
Trump has long been pressuring NATO allies to send ships, but he upped the ante over the weekend, telling the Financial Times in an interview that failure to do so would “be very bad for the future of NATO.”
But Starmer said protecting the Strait was not the job of the Atlantic alliance.
“We want to make sure that that involves as many partners as possible. That’s been our stated objective here, particularly talking to European partners, inevitably talking to Gulf partners and to the US, because we need a credible, viable plan,” said the PM.
Traffic in the strait has dropped precipitously after seven ships were attacked and damaged by Iran over a 48-hour period last week.
Oil prices surged as high as $106 per barrel as of Monday morning, while gas prices have increased 80 cents on average nationwide since this time last month.
