President Donald Trump has issued a call for nations dependent on oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz to assume primary responsibility for securing the critical maritime passage, while offering substantial U.S. military support. The declaration comes amid escalating tensions that have driven global oil prices up by 40% following Iranian attacks on Gulf energy infrastructure and shipping channels.
Speaking through social media on Saturday, Trump stated that while the United States had ‘completely decimated Iran’ both militarily and economically, the task of safeguarding the strategic waterway should become an international endeavor. ‘The Countries of the World that receive Oil through the Hormuz Strait must take care of that passage, and we will help — A LOT!’ the President announced, adding that Washington would coordinate multinational efforts to ensure operational efficiency.
Trump specifically named China, France, Japan, South Korea, and Britain as nations he expects to contribute naval assets to secure the strait, through which approximately 20% of global crude oil and liquefied natural gas normally transits. Iranian drone strikes and mining operations have effectively paralyzed maritime traffic through the narrow 54-kilometer channel.
The President outlined a dual strategy combining international naval presence with aggressive U.S. military action, vowing to ‘bomb the hell out of the shoreline’ and continuously engage Iranian vessels attempting to disrupt shipping. This follows Friday’s extensive U.S. bombing campaign against military targets on Iran’s Kharg Island, which handles nearly all of the country’s crude exports.
Despite Trump’s assertions of Iran’s military defeat, he acknowledged Tehran’s continued capacity for asymmetric warfare in the region. ‘It’s easy for them to send a drone or two, drop a mine, or deliver a close range missile somewhere along this Waterway, no matter how badly defeated they are,’ he noted.
European allies have begun mobilizing naval assets, though they emphasize defensive postures. French President Emmanuel Macron visited an aircraft carrier dispatched to the Mediterranean, characterizing the mission as defensive, while a British warship departed for the eastern Mediterranean following a drone attack on the UK’s Akrotiri base in Cyprus.