US President Donald Trump has intensified pressure on NATO allies to deploy warships for a naval mission to secure the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint carrying around one fifth of the world's oil and gas supplies, warning that a failure to respond would be "very bad" for the future of the alliance.
In an interview published on Sunday by the Financial Times, Trump called on allied nations to act as Germany, Japan and Australia all declined to participate. German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul (CDU) said he saw no immediate necessity for German involvement at this point in time.
Trump called on NATO to respond to the Strait of Hormuz crisis directly. "If there is no answer, or if there is a negative answer, I consider that very bad for the future of NATO," he told the Financial Times. Trump pointed to US support for Ukraine in its war against Russia, saying he expected Washington's European allies to reciprocate by helping secure the blocked waterway.
Having initially announced that the US Navy would begin escorting tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, Trump reversed course on Saturday and instead pushed other nations to send their own warships to secure the passage.
Trump said "many countries" would participate in the Strait of Hormuz naval mission, naming China, France, Japan, South Korea and the United Kingdom. Speaking to journalists aboard Air Force One on Monday, Trump said his administration was in active talks with "around seven" countries.
Japan, however, ruled out any involvement. "In the current situation regarding Iran, we are not considering ordering a maritime security operation at this time," Japanese Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi told parliament in Tokyo. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said any maritime security operation would be "legally extremely difficult." Deploying Japan's Self-Defence Forces overseas remains deeply politically sensitive in the officially pacifist country.
Australia also declined to send ships to the Strait of Hormuz. "We will not be sending a ship to the Strait of Hormuz," Australian Transport Minister Catherine King told the Australian broadcaster ABC. "We know how incredibly important this is, but this is not something we have been asked to do or contribute to," she added.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer held talks with Trump about the Strait of Hormuz blockade, with a spokesperson for the British Prime Minister's office saying the two leaders had discussed "the ongoing situation in the Middle East and the importance of reopening the Strait of Hormuz to end the disruption to global shipping."
Germany had already ruled out participation on Friday. Speaking on ARD on Sunday, Foreign Minister Wadephul said he saw no "immediate necessity" for German involvement in a Strait of Hormuz naval operation at this time, and called on the United States and Israel to provide more information about their war aims and plans in the ongoing war against Iran.
Trump raised the prospect of postponing his planned summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing if China does not contribute to securing the Strait of Hormuz. "We would like to know before," the US president said. "It is only appropriate that those who benefit from the strait also help ensure that nothing bad happens there," he said.
Trump is scheduled to travel to China from 31 March to 2 April to meet President Xi Jinping, though Beijing has not yet confirmed the visit. When asked what kind of military support he envisioned, Trump said he wanted minesweepers as well as "people who will take out some of the bad actors that are situated along the coast."
Since the Iran war began at the end of February, the Strait of Hormuz, through which around one fifth of the world's oil and liquefied gas transport passes, has been effectively blocked by the Iranian military. The strait, situated between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran, is controlled by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. Iran has also struck oil facilities across several Gulf states and attacked oil tankers in the region, driving oil and gas prices sharply higher across global markets.
EU foreign ministers are meeting in Brussels on Monday to discuss the Middle East crisis, with a possible expansion of the EU's Aspides naval mission in the Red Sea also on the agenda, including extending its protection to shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz.
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