President Donald Trump says Iran’s decades-long use of the Strait of Hormuz chokepoint for global oil shipments from the Middle East will end, calling on the world to liberate the world.
“Many countries, especially those affected by Iran’s attempt to close the Strait of Hormuz, will, in coordination with the United States of America, send warships to keep the Strait open and safe,” Trump wrote. Saturday morning at Truth Social.
Iran’s closing of the strait has increased global oil supplies, driving up gas prices even in states, despite the fact that the US is a net oil exporter and gets only a fraction of its oil from the Middle East. Trump is calling on countries dependent on the strait’s oil tankers to share the responsibility of freeing them.
“We have already destroyed 100% of Iran’s military capability, but it is easy for them to send a drone or two, drop a mine, or deliver a short-range missile somewhere along or into this Waterway no matter how badly they are defeated,” Trump’s message continued. “Hopefully, China, France, Japan, South Korea, Britain and others affected by this artificial restriction will send ships to the area so that the Strait of Hormuz will no longer pose a threat to a nation that has been totally decapitated.”
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The Iranian regime is using naval mines, of which it has stockpiled thousands, to make crossing the Strait of Hormuz difficult and deadly. (Win McNamee/Getty Images; Eranicle/iStock)
Trump promised a massive campaign to eliminate Iran’s ability to terrorize oil tankers crossing the region.
“In the meantime, the United States will bomb from the coastline and continuously shoot Iranian boats and ships out of the water,” he concluded. “Somehow we will soon get the Strait of Hormuz OPEN, SAFE and FREE!”
Trump added another Truth Social post five hours later that the countries that depend on Middle Eastern oil must now also take responsibility for it.
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A timelapse video shows maritime traffic moving through the Strait of Hormuz. (Kpler/Maritime traffic)
“The United States of America has defeated and completely decimated Iran, militarily, economically, and in every other way, but the countries of the world that receive oil through the Strait of Hormuz must provide that passage, and we will help – A LOT!” Trump wrote. “The U.S. will also work with those countries so that everything goes quickly, smoothly and well. This should always have been a team effort, and now it will be: it will bring the world together toward harmony, security and eternal peace!”
None of these countries gave any direct indication that they would do so. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi even claimed that both China and Russia are “strategic partners” supporting defense against US- and Israeli-led aggression.
“That also includes military cooperation.” he told MS Now in an interview Saturday. “I won’t go into that. Good cooperation with these countries, politically, economically and even militarily.”
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Araghchi is continuing a “confused policy” according to the United Arab Emirates, as the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps claims the strait will remain closed, while the foreign minister suggests all countries except the US or Israel will be allowed through.
“In fact, the Strait of Hormuz is open,” Araghchi said. ‘It’s only closed for the tankers and ships[ing] for our enemies, for those who attack us and their allies. Others are free to pass.”
Takayuki Kobayashi, policy chief of Japan’s ruling party, told public broadcaster NHK that “the (legal) threshold is very high.”
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Japan interprets its pacifist post-war constitution to mean it can deploy its military if the nation’s survival is threatened, but the government would have to invoke a 2015 security law that has not yet been implemented.
South Korea’s presidential office said it would decide on Trump’s request after a “careful review.”
France is trying to put together a coalition to secure the strait once the security situation stabilizes, while Britain is discussing a range of options with allies to ensure the safety of shipping, officials say.
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Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, who replaced his slain father and who the US and Israel say is injured, has said the Strait of Hormuz should remain closed.
War Secretary Pete Hegseth says the new supreme leader was “disfigured” in the initial attacks that killed his father late last month.
“There is no problem with the new supreme leader,” Araghchi told MS Now. “The system works.”
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“Everything is under control.”
Reuters contributed to this report.
