Several European nations, alongside Japan and Canada, have issued a joint statement on their stance regarding the Strait of Hormuz situation.
In the statement, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Japan, and Canada expressed concern about the conflict while offering assistance with safe passage through the waterway.
“We condemn in the strongest terms recent attacks by Iran on unarmed commercial vessels in the Gulf, attacks on civilian infrastructure including oil and gas installations, and the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iranian forces,” the nations said.
“We express our readiness to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait.
“We welcome the commitment of nations who are engaging in preparatory planning.”
Around 20% of the world’s oil travels through the Strait of Hormuz, causing oil prices to soar.
This led the International Energy Agency to release 400 million barrels of oil to mitigate supply issues, which was welcomed by the nations in the joint statement.
“We will take other steps to stabilise energy markets, including working with certain producing nations to increase output,” the joint statement said.
The statement also comes ahead of a long-scheduled White House meeting between President Donald Trump and Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, aimed at improving the decades-old security and economic partnership between Washington and its closest East Asian ally.
Ahead of the meeting, U.S. Treasury Scott Bessent said he would expect Japan, which gets 95% of its crude oil from the Gulf, to want to ensure its supplies are safe.
So far, Takaichi has not offered to assist in clearing the strait.
She told parliament that Tokyo has not received an official request from the U.S, but was checking the scope of possible action within the limits of its constitution.
