Trump demands UK and other nations send ships to Strait of Hormuz

Donald Trump has called on countries including the UK to send vessels to the Strait of Hormuz to protect the global oil trade.

The US president claimed oil tankers could still be targeted by Iranian forces despite insisting the US had destroyed ‘100% of Iran’s military capability’.

In a post shared on his Truth Social platform, Trump urged five countries, including China

He wrote: ‘Many countries, especially those who are affected by Iran’s attempted closure of the Hormuz Strait, will be sending War Ships, in conjunction with the United States of America, to keep the Strait open and safe.

‘Hopefully China, France, Japan, South Korea, the UK, and others, that are affected by this artificial constraint, will send Ships to the area.’

Oil trade through the critical stretch, which spans just 35 miles at its widest point, has been crippled by Iranian strikes.

The strait normally handles a fifth of global crude oil and liquefied natural gas.

When asked, Trump promised on Friday that US navy ships would soon start escorting vessels through the targeted patch, conceding that Iran was still able to severely disrupt shipping in the strait despite its depleted military force.

‘We have already destroyed 100% of Iran’s Military capability, but it’s easy for them to send a drone or two, drop a mine, or deliver a close range missile somewhere along, or in, this Waterway, no matter how badly defeated they are’, the president said.

But he remained defiant that he would get the strait ‘open, safe and free’.

Britain is already sending HMS Dragon to protect RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus after the base was hit by a drone attack.

However the vessel would not reach the Mediterranean island until at least a week after it sets sail from Portsmouth.

It comes as Trump threatened to strike the island of Kharg if the blockade on the strait was not lifted soon.

The coral island is one of Iran’s most valuable assets and handles nearly all of its oil exports.

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