Several countries have ignored or explicitly rejected US President Donald Trump’s call to send warships to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran declared closed on March 2 after the US-Israeli assault on Tehran. The pushback underscores growing resistance to Washington’s effort to build a broader military coalition as the war entered its 18th day.
That international hesitation contrasts with a hardening view inside the Gulf. Gulf Arab states that initially opposed the US-Israeli war are now privately urging Washington not to stop before Iran loses the ability to threaten Gulf shipping, oil infrastructure, and regional economies, according to Reuters.
The shift followed Iranian missile and drone strikes on airports, ports, oil facilities, and commercial hubs across the six Gulf states, as well as disruption to traffic through Hormuz, the route for about a fifth of global oil.
The Gulf’s tougher tone reflects more than damage to ships and facilities. According to Reuters, Gulf officials and analysts say Iran’s latest attacks have also undermined the image of stability that Gulf states have built to attract trade, tourism and investment, reinforcing the argument among some in the region that curbing Iran’s military power has become a long-term strategic priority.
But Gulf leaders remain wary of being pulled directly into the conflict. Reuters reported that Washington is pressing Gulf states to join the US-Israeli campaign to show regional backing, but diplomats and regional sources said no Gulf country wants to act alone, GCC coordination remains limited, and leaders are trying to balance deterrence with avoiding a wider confrontation.
At the Trump Kennedy Center on Monday, the US president said the campaign had achieved a “90% reduction in ballistic missiles” and a “95% reduction in drone attacks,” and said the US could destroy oil infrastructure on Kharg Island with “5 minutes notice.” He also said US forces were “hammering” Iran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump urged countries that rely on oil passing through the waterway, including Japan, China, South Korea, and European countries, to help. “We strongly encourage other nations whose economies depend on the Strait for blood,” he said. “These people literally need it, 90-95% of their energy, their oil, comes out of the strait, and they should be in here very happily helping us.”
Trump called on NATO on Sunday to join military operations against Iran, saying the alliance faced a “very bad future” if European allies failed to support military efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
On Monday, German government spokesperson Stefan Kornelius said the war with Iran had nothing to do with NATO, reiterating that Germany would not take part in the war against Iran, or even in any effort to keep the Strait of Hormuz open by military means.
“As long as this war continues, there will be no involvement, not even in an option to keep the Strait of Hormuz open by military means,” he added.
The pushback fits a broader international mood. In remarks cited by Foreign Policy, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius asked what “a handful or two handfuls of European frigates” could do in the strait that the powerful US Navy could not, adding, “This is not our war. We have not started it.” Chancellor Friedrich Merz later repeated that line, saying NATO is a defensive alliance and has no place in this conflict.
Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said in parliament on Monday that Japan had no plans to send warships to the Strait of Hormuz. “What is most important is to put our efforts, including our diplomatic efforts, into calming the situation,” he said.
Australia, another key US ally in the Indo-Pacific, said it had not been asked and would not send warships to help reopen the strait. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Britain would not be drawn into the wider war, Spain warned against any step that could raise tensions further, and Italy said existing EU naval missions would not be expanded to include Hormuz.
The head of the International Maritime Organization, Arsenio Dominguez, told the Financial Times on Tuesday that naval escorts through the Strait of Hormuz will not “100 per cent guarantee” the safety of ships attempting to transit the critical waterway.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump called on the UK, China, France, Japan, South Korea and other countries to send ships to the waterway. He also said on Monday that he was planning to delay his expected summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, scheduled for later this month, to pressure Beijing to help break the blockade on the vital waterway.
Chinese foreign affairs spokesperson Lin Jian said on Tuesday that Beijing and Washington were in talks over “the timing and related matters of President Trump’s visit to China.”
Since Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz, which carries 20% of global energy supplies, oil prices have nearly doubled worldwide before easing somewhat in recent days.
Against that backdrop, Starmer said Britain was working with allies on a “viable” plan to reopen the strait, stressing it would not be under NATO auspices.
Starmer said Britain was taking the steps needed to defend itself and its allies, but would not be drawn into a wider war in the Middle East.
“I want to be clear that this mission is not and will not be adopted as a NATO mission,” he added. “It will be a coalition among partners. That is why we are working with partners in Europe and the Gulf, as well as with the United States.”The US and Israel launched their assault on Iran at the end of February, killing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and a number of Revolutionary Guard commanders. Tehran responded with a broad bombardment that included Tel Aviv, US bases, and US embassies in the Gulf and other Middle Eastern countries. It also moved to close the Strait of Hormuz and sink ships passing through it.
The assault came while negotiations were underway that had begun on Feb. 6 through Omani mediation to explore the chances of reaching an agreement on Iran’s nuclear program, which Washington and Tel Aviv were seeking to end and prevent Tehran from completing.
The current operations are the second wave of US-Israeli strikes against Iran in a matter of months, after Israel and Iran fought a 12-day war in June, in which the United States joined by carrying out airstrikes on Iran that it said were meant to deter Tehran from developing its nuclear program. Iran responded by firing missiles at the US Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar before Trump announced the war had ended by agreement.
