CAIRO ( WNAM MONITORING): President Donald Trump said Sunday that he has demanded about seven countries send warships to keep the Strait of Hormuz open, but his appeals have brought no commitments as oil prices soar during the Iran war.
He also warned that NATO faces a “very bad” future if US allies fail to help open the Strait of Hormuz, the critical oil transport conduit effectively shut by Iran in the Mideast war.
The president declined to name the countries heavily reliant on Middle East crude that the administration is negotiating with to join a coalition to police the waterway where about one-fifth the world’s traded oil normally flows.
“I’m demanding that these countries come in and protect their own territory, because it is their own territory,” Trump said about the strait, claiming the shipping channel is not something the United States needs because of its own access to oil. Trump spoke while answering reporters’ questions as he flew back to Washington from Florida aboard Air Force One.
Trump said China gets about 90 percent of its oil from the strait, while the US gets a minimal amount. He declined to discuss whether China will join the coalition.
“It would be nice to have other countries police that with us, and we’ll help. We’ll work with them,” Trump said. Previously, he has appealed to China, France, Japan, South Korea and Britain.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi earlier told CBS that Tehran has been “approached by a number of countries” seeking safe passage for their vessels, “and this is up to our military to decide.” He said a group of vessels from “different countries” had been allowed to pass, without providing details.
Iran has said the strait is open to all except the United States and its allies.
Araghchi added that “we don’t see any reason why we should talk with Americans” about finding a way to end the war, noting that Israel and the US started the fighting with coordinated attacks on Feb. 28 during indirect US-Iran talks on Iran’s nuclear program. He also said Tehran had “no plan to recover” the enriched uranium that is under rubble following US and Israeli attacks last year.
NATO warned of ‘very bad’ future if allies don’t help
In a brief interview with The Financial Times, Trump said that as the US has aided Ukraine in the war with Russia, he expects Europe to help on the Strait of Hormuz, whose closure has sent energy prices soaring around the world.
“If there’s no response or if it’s a negative response I think it will be very bad for the future of NATO,” said Trump, who over the years has criticized the alliance as freeloading on US largesse.
Trump also said an upcoming summit in Beijing with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping could be delayed as he presses for China’s help to open the strait.
“We’d like to know before” the summit, Trump said, noting that China as well as many European countries rely more than the United States on oil flowing from the Gulf.
“It’s only appropriate that people who are the beneficiaries of the Strait will help to make sure that nothing bad happens there,” Trump said.
Trump said separately to reporters traveling with him on Air Force One that the United States was in discussions with “about seven” countries on getting help to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Asked about specific help he was looking for, Trump told the FT he wanted minesweepers as well as “people who are going to knock out some bad actors that are along the (Iranian) shore.”
Uncertainty about how long the war against Iran might last has rattled oil markets, where crude prices have surged over the past two weeks due to the supply risks.
On Sunday, the US benchmark West Texas Intermediate opened 2.5 percent higher at $100.22 a barrel, while the price of Brent, the international benchmark, rose 2.9 percent to $106.11 a barrel.
Countries are cautious after Trump’s call
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright told NBC earlier Sunday that he has been “in dialogue” with some of the countries Trump had mentioned previously, and said he expected China “will be a constructive partner” in reopening the strait.
But countries made no promises.
Britain said Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Sunday discussed with Trump the importance of reopening the strait “to end the disruption to global shipping,” and spoke with Canada’s prime minister about it separately.
Later aboard Air Force One, Trump specifically named Starmer, who he said initially declined to put British aircraft carriers “into harm’s way.”
“Whether we get support or not, but I can say this, and I said to them: We will remember,” Trump said.
A spokesperson for China’s embassy to the US, Liu Pengyu, said previously that “all parties have the responsibility to ensure stable and unimpeded energy supply” and that China would “strengthen communication with relevant parties” for de-escalation.
South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said it “takes note” of Trump’s call and that it “will closely coordinate and carefully review” the situation with the US
Expectations are high that Trump will ask Japan directly when Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi meets him on Thursday at the White House.
France previously said it is working with countries — President Emmanuel Macron mentioned partners in Europe, India and Asia — on a possible international mission to escort ships through the strait but has stressed it must be when “the circumstances permit,” when fighting has subsided.
Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul of Germany, which was not mentioned in Trump’s call, told ARD television: “Will we soon be an active part of this conflict? No.”
Meanwhile, emergency oil stocks “will soon start flowing to global markets,” the International Energy Agency said Sunday, describing the collective action to lower prices “by far the largest ever.”
It updated last week’s announcement of 400 million barrels to nearly 412 million. Asian member countries plan to release stocks “immediately,” and reserves from Europe and the Americas will be released “from the end of March.”
Trump didn’t directly answer whether his administration is talking about selling oil futures as a way to cap surging oil prices.
“The prices are going to come tumbling down as soon as it’s over. And it’s going to be over pretty quickly,” he told reporters.
Asked whether there are diplomatic talks underway with Iran, Trump told reporters, “We’re talking to them, but I don’t think they’re ready. But they’re getting pretty close.” Trump said any deal has to first address Iran’s nuclear program.
More missile and drone attacks are reported
Gulf Arab states including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain reported new missile or drone attacks a day after Iran called for the evacuation of three major ports in the United Arab Emirates — the first time it has threatened a neighboring country’s non-US assets.
Tehran has accused the US of launching Friday’s strikes on Kharg Island, home to Iran’s primary oil terminal, from the UAE, without providing evidence. It has threatened to attack US-linked “oil, economic and energy infrastructures” if its oil infrastructure is hit.
US Central Command said it had no response to Iran’s claim, and Anwar Gargash, a diplomatic adviser to the UAE president, rejected it. Gulf countries that host US bases have denied allowing their land or airspace to be used for military operations against Iran.
Iran has fired hundreds of missiles and drones at Arab Gulf neighbors during the war, causing significant damage and rattling economies even as most are intercepted. Tehran says it targets US assets, even as Iranian strikes are reported at civilian sites such as airports and oil fields.
War’s toll mounts across the region
Iranian strikes have killed at least a dozen civilians in Gulf countries, most of them migrant workers.
In Iran, the International Committee for the Red Cross said more than 1,300 people have been killed. Iran’s Health Ministry said 223 women and 202 children are among the dead, according to Mizan, the judiciary’s official news agency.
Iran’s government on Sunday showed journalists buildings damaged by strikes in Tehran on Friday. A police station was hit and surrounding buildings were damaged. Some apartments’ outer walls had been stripped away.
“God had mercy on all of us,” said Elham Movagghari, a resident. Other Iranians are leaving the country.
In Israel, 12 people have been killed by Iranian missile fire and more have been injured, including three on Sunday. At least 13 US military members have been killed, six in a plane crash in Iraq last week.
At least 820 people have been killed in Lebanon, according to its Health Ministry, since Iran-backed Hezbollah hit Israel and Israel responded with strikes and sent additional troops into southern Lebanon. In just 10 days, more than 800,000 people — nearly one out of every seven residents of Lebanon — have been displaced.
More Iranian missile strikes hit Israel
Israel’s military said early Monday that Iran launched missiles toward Israel.
Earlier, several strikes hit central Israel and the Tel Aviv area, where they caused damage at 23 sites and sparked a small fire. Magen David Adom, Israel’s rescue service, released video showing a large crater in a street and shrapnel damage to an apartment building.
