US President Donald Trump has called on allies to help secure the Strait of Hormuz as Iranian forces continue attacks on the vital waterway, now in its third week of effective closure since the US-Israeli war on Iran began.
Trump said his administration had already contacted seven countries, declining to identify them, though he said in an earlier social media post that he hoped China, France, Japan, South Korea, Britain and others would participate. Iran has effectively shut the strait, choking off a fifth of global oil supply in the biggest such disruption ever recorded.
Here is how key countries have responded.
Japan will not dispatch naval vessels to escort ships in the Middle East, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said on Monday, adding that Tokyo was continuing to examine what it could do independently and within its legal framework. Takaichi is travelling to Washington this week for talks with Trump that she said will cover the Iran conflict.
Australia will not send naval ships to assist in reopening the strait. “We won’t be sending a ship to the Strait of Hormuz. We know how incredibly important that is, but that’s not something that we’ve been asked or that we’re contributing to,” cabinet minister Catherine King told state broadcaster ABC.
South Korea said it would communicate closely with the US and make a decision after careful review. Under South Korea’s constitution, overseas troop deployments require parliamentary approval, and opposition figures have said any dispatch of warships would need legislative consent.
Britain will not be drawn into the wider Iran war, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Monday, while reiterating he was working with allies on a plan to reopen the strait. “Let me be clear, that won’t be and it’s never been envisioned to be a NATO mission,” he told reporters.
The European Union will discuss bolstering its small Aspides naval mission in the Middle East at a foreign ministers’ meeting on Monday, though diplomats and officials say the Strait of Hormuz is not expected to be on the agenda. The Aspides mission — named after the Greek word for shields — was established in 2024 to protect ships from Houthi attacks in the Red Sea.
Germany will not participate militarily in securing the strait, Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said. “What does Trump expect from a handful of European frigates that the powerful US Navy cannot do? This is not our war, we have not started it,” he said. Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul described extending Aspides to the strait as making him “very sceptical.”
Denmark struck a more open tone, with Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen saying it would be wise to keep an open mind, adding that even if Europe did not support the decision to go to war, “we must face the world as it is, not as we want it to be.”
Italy said diplomacy was the right approach to resolving the crisis, with Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani adding there were no existing naval missions that could be extended to the area.
Greece will not engage in military operations in the Strait of Hormuz, a government spokesperson said on Monday.
(Reuters)
