Washington, Mar 16 (AP) In the early days of the Iran conflict, President Donald Trump had said US Navy vessels would escort oil tankers through the strait, which connects the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman, and downplayed the threat posed by Iran.
But as oil prices soared, he and his administration have been forced to consider new options - including the idea, broached this weekend, for other countries to join the push with their own warships.
Trump told reporters that he has asked about seven countries to participate in a coalition that would help oil tankers navigate the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran says is only cut off for the US, Israel and their allies.
"From our perspective it is open," Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said of the strait. "It is only closed to our enemies, to those who carried out unjust aggression against our country and to their allies."
In addition to China, Japan and South Korea, Trump has made appeals for help to Britain and France.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Monday that Britain is working with allies on a plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, but "will not be drawn into the wider war".
Britain is discussing with the US and allies in Europe and the Gulf the possibility of using mine-hunting drones that the UK has in the region, Starmer said.
But he signalled the UK is unlikely to dispatch a warship.
Other countries have similarly been resistant to get involved.
Australia's Transport Minister Catherine King told Australian Broadcasting Corp on Monday that "we won't be sending a ship to the Strait of Hormuz," although she wasn't aware of such a request from the US.
"We know how incredibly important that is," King said, "but that's not something that we've been asked or that we're contributing to."
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani told reporters in Brussels on Monday that while Italy backs reinforcing EU naval missions in the Red Sea, "I don't think these missions can be expanded to include the Strait of Hormuz."
War in Iran has sent the price of oil skyrocketing, which has raised the price Americans pay at the pump, just as the midterm election season begins to heat up.
However, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent downplayed the war's impact on oil prices and accused the media of "trying to make it into some crisis that it's not." Echoing Trump, the secretary insisted prices would come down after the conflict ends.
"I don't know how many weeks it will be," Bessent said on CNBC, "but on the other side of this, the world will be safer, and we will be better supplied."
China, which faces its own economic pressures, recently lowered its 2026 target for growth slightly to 4.5% to 5%, its slowest projected growth since 1991, meaning prolonged disruptions in the strait could have long-term impacts for Beijing as well.
A Foreign Ministry spokesperson in Beijing, Lin Jian, did not respond directly to questions about Trump's call for outside help in the strait. He noted the impact on goods and energy trade and repeated his government's call for an end to the fighting.
"China once again calls on all parties to stop military actions immediately, avoid further escalation of tensions and prevent instability in the region from having a greater impact on global economic development," he said.