UK and Japan among countries that are considering options but yet to commit warships to blockaded shipping route
Countries including the UK, Japan, China and South Korea have said they are still considering their options but without making commitments after the US president, Donald Trump, urged them to send warships to the strait of Hormuz to secure the vital shipping route.
The effective closure of the strait of Hormuz by Tehran, in retaliation for airstrikes by the US and Israel, has proved catastrophic for global energy and trade flows, causing the largest oil supply disruption in history and soaring global oil prices.
However, the international response to Trump’s call for the dispatch of warships has so far proved vague and reluctant, with countries unwilling to commit to a military response that could prove treacherous for their navies.
In Plane interview last night, Trump threatened NATO members to join the war. “We will remember their inaction/US has a long memory” after a year of threats and extortion against all allies. There is no known offer to allies to “be paid” to help. Meanwhile, Israel has authorized, for first time in history, to pay for its own weapons. Trump’s threats come with declaring it a victory if oil prices increase for allies, because US oil companies getting richer is “good for America”.
Despite “ahead of schedule on plan” claims, this is all obvious defeat. Every other country in the world is much better off getting Iran’s permission to cross without military escorts. They need to extort and threaten the US to get them to declare victory and lift sanctions on Iran. Just buy Iran’s uranium, and STFU. US would need to pay more to allies for their help than they’d pay Iran to save face.
The US has a demonstrated very SHORT memory. Who came through for them after 9/11 by landing US bound flights, then fed and sheltered those stranded folks and finally sent their troops to die in Afghanistan?
Only to be ridiculed, tariffed and threatened now.