Many United States allies have said they will not send ships to escort vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, with U.S. President Donald Trump complaining that they “weren’t that enthusiastic”.
Countries including Australia, Japan, and Germany have said they do not have plans to send escort ships. Trump has repeatedly called for allied countries to begin dispatching ships to the strait for escort missions in recent days.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said yesterday that “no decision has been made whatsoever” to dispatch escort ships, while German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Germany did not have a mandate to do so from the United Nations, European Union, or NATO.
Australia does not plan to send escort ships and has not been asked to do so, according to Transport Minister Catherine King.
Officials from Greece, Italy, and the Netherlands have also said they do not expect to dispatch ships.
“Some are very enthusiastic about it, and some aren’t,” said Trump in response. “Some are countries that we've helped for many, many years. We've protected them from horrible outside sources, and they weren't that enthusiastic. And the level of enthusiasm matters to me.”
The Trump administration had planned to announce a multinational coalition to escort ships as soon as this week, the Wall Street Journal reported, though talks are still ongoing over whether escort missions would begin before or after hostilities ended.
The strait, where around 20% of global oil flows would usually transit, remains largely closed. However, Iran’s oil exports have continued to pass through, with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi saying the strait “is only closed to the tankers and ships belonging to our enemies”.
