Trump Urges UK, Allies to Send Warships to Strait of Hormuz
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- Trump urged the UK, China, France, Japan and South Korea to send warships to the Strait of Hormuz, posting on Truth Social that 100% of Iran's military capability had been destroyed but Tehran could still deploy drones, mines or close-range missiles.
- The UK Ministry of Defence said it was discussing "a range of options to ensure the security of shipping in the region" with allies, even though the US Navy is not currently escorting tankers through the narrow shipping lane.
- Tehran has vowed to keep blocking the strait, through which roughly 20% of world oil supplies usually pass, and warned that any tanker bound for the US, Israel or its partners is a "legitimate target."
- UKMTO reported 16 ships attacked in and around the strait since the war began on 28 February, with strikes on shipping and energy infrastructure driving a "huge rise" in global oil prices.
- Trump separately threatened to target Iran's oil infrastructure on Kharg Island if Tehran "interferes" with shipping, prompting Iran's military to say it would immediately destroy oil and energy assets belonging to firms working with the US.
- France's President Macron said he was willing to send warships on a "purely escort mission" but only once the most "intense phase of the conflict" had ended.
- Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey urged PM Starmer to "rule out deploying British ships just because Trump tells him to," pointing out Trump had said a week earlier the US didn't need UK aircraft carriers because the war was already won.
Why it matters: Trump's appeal marks an abrupt reversal from his comment a week earlier that it was "a little bit late to be sending ships," driven by 16 tanker attacks since 28 February and the failure to keep the strait—through which 20% of world oil passes—open. With the US Navy not escorting tankers and Iran threatening retaliation against energy infrastructure, allied warships are the only near-term path to restoring shipping traffic and curbing the oil price surge already underway.
