Trump demands others help secure Strait of Hormuz, Japan and Australia say no plans to send ships

TOKYO/PALM BEACH, Florida (Reuters) – Japan and Australia said on Monday they were not planning to send navy vessels to the Middle East to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz, after US President Donald Trump called on allies to create a coalition to reopen the vital waterway.

With the US-Israeli war ‌on Iran creating turmoil across the Middle East and shaking up global energy markets in its third week, Trump on Sunday insisted that nations relying heavily on oil from the Gulf have a responsibility to protect the strait through which 20% of the world's energy transits.

Markets in Asia opened cautiously, with Brent crude rising more than 1% above $104.50 and regional share markets mostly weaker after Trump's comments about enlisting other countries to help safeguard the strait.

"I’m demanding that these countries come in and protect their own territory because it is their territory," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on the way from Florida to Washington. "It’s the place from which they get their energy."

Trump said his administration has already contacted seven countries, but did not identify the countries. In a weekend social media post he hoped China, France, Japan, South Korea, Britain and others would participate.

Though he declined to identify the seven governments that his administration has contacted, Trump said this weekend that he expected many countries would send warships to allow shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a conduit for 20% of the world's oil.

In an interview with the Financial Times on Sunday, Trump ratcheted up pressure on European allies to help protect the strait, warning that NATO faces a “very bad” future if its members fail to come to Washington’s aid.

Trump also said Washington is in contact with Iran but expressed doubt that Tehran is prepared for serious negotiations to end the conflict.

US officials responding to economic uncertainty over high oil prices predicted on Sunday that the war on Iran would end within weeks and that a drop in energy costs would follow, despite Iran's assertion that it remains "stable and strong" and ready to defend itself.

Trump had threatened more strikes on Iran's main oil export hub Kharg Island over the weekend and said he was not ready to reach a deal to end the war which has shut off the vital Strait of Hormuz.

The Trump administration plans to announce as early as this week that multiple countries have agreed to form a coalition to escort ships through the narrow waterway but they are still discussing whether those operations would begin before or after hostilities end, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing unnamed US officials.

Trump offered few specifics about the kind of assistance he wanted from other countries to open up the strait, except to say some have minesweepers and "a certain type of boat that could help us."

Asian markets were in a wary mood on Monday as the Gulf hostilities kept oil prices elevated. Brent rose 0.1% to $103.27 a barrel, while US crude fell 0.7% to $97.99.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said on Monday her country, constrained by its war-renouncing constitution, has no plan to dispatch naval vessels to escort ships in the Middle East.

"We have not made any decisions whatsoever about dispatching escort ships. We are continuing to examine what Japan can do independently and what can be done within the legal framework," Takaichi told parliament.

Australia, another key Indo-Pacific ally to the US, said it had not been asked and will not send naval ships to assist in reopening the strait either.

"We know how incredibly important that is, but that's not something that we've been asked or that we're contributing to," Catherine King, a member of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's cabinet, said in an interview with state broadcaster ABC.

TRUMP MAY DELAY BEIJING VISIT WITHOUT CHINA SUPPORT

Trump told the Financial Times on Sunday he was expecting China to help unblock the strait before his scheduled meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing at the end of this month and might postpone his trip if it did not provide assistance.

“I think China should help too because China gets 90% of its oil from the Straits,” Trump said. “We may delay," he said in reference to his visit if China did not offer support in the Gulf.

The Chinese foreign ministry did not ‌immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Trump also ratcheted up pressure on European allies to help protect the strait, warning that NATO faces a “very bad” future if its members fail to come to Washington’s aid.

European Union foreign ministers will discuss on Monday bolstering a small naval mission in the Middle East but are not expected to decide on extending its role to the choked-off Strait of Hormuz, diplomats and officials say.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer discussed the need to reopen the strait with Trump, and with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, a Downing Street spokeswoman said on Sunday, while South Korea has said it would carefully review Trump’s request.

Although some Iranian vessels have continued to pass and a few ships from other countries have successfully made the crossing, the passage has been effectively closed for most of the world's tanker traffic since the United States and Israel attacked Iran on February 28 at the start of an intensive bombing campaign that has hit thousands of targets across the country.

DRONES CAUSE FIRE, DISRUPT TRAFFIC AT DUBAI AIRPORT

Despite repeated claims from US authorities to have destroyed Iran's military capabilities, drone attacks continued to threaten Gulf states on Monday.

Dubai authorities said they had contained a fire but temporarily suspended flights at the airport, a major international hub, after a drone attack hit a fuel tank. Saudi Arabia intercepted 34 drones in its eastern region in one hour, state media said. No injuries were reported in either incident.

US officials responding to economic uncertainty over high oil prices predicted on Sunday that the war on Iran would end within weeks and that a drop in energy costs would follow, despite Iran's assertion that it remains "stable and strong" and ready to defend itself.

Trump, who threatened more strikes on Iran's main oil export hub Kharg Island over the weekend, has said previously that Iran wants to negotiate, but Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi earlier on Sunday disputed that claim.

“We have never asked for a ceasefire, and we have never asked even for negotiations," Araqchi told CBS' "Face the Nation" program. "We are ready to defend ourselves for as long as it takes.”

IRAN DENIES TRUMP CLAIM ON NEGOTIATIONS

Trump, who on Friday said the US Navy would "soon" start escorting oil tankers, has said previously that Iran wants to negotiate, but Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi earlier on Sunday disputed that claim.

“We have never asked for a ceasefire, and we have never asked even for negotiations," Araqchi ‌told CBS' "Face the Nation" programme. "We are ready to defend ourselves for as long as it takes.”

With crude oil prices hovering around $100 a barrel, Trump administration officials insisted that all signs point to a relatively quick end to the conflict.

"This conflict will certainly come to the end in the next few weeks — could be sooner than that," US Energy Secretary Chris Wright told ABC's "This Week" program.

Trump on Sunday did not put a timeframe on concluding the war but said oil prices "are going to come tumbling down as soon as it's over, and it's going to be over pretty quick."

But the US president said he saw no reason to declare victory yet.

"I think I just say they're decimated." Trump told reporters. "If we left right now, it would take them 10 years or more to rebuild, but I'm still not declaring it over."

Meanwhile, Araqchi sought to project an image of strength and resilience despite waves of US and Israeli air strikes that have killed a number of Iranian leaders, sunk much of the Islamic Republic's navy and devastated its missile arsenal.

"It's not a war of survival. We are stable and strong enough," Araqchi told CBS. "We don't see any reason why we should talk with Americans, because we were talking with them when they decided to attack us, and that was for the second time."

KHARG ISLAND

Trump said on Saturday that US strikes had "totally demolished" much of Kharg Island and warned of more, telling NBC News on Saturday, "We may hit it a few more times just for fun."

The comments marked a sharp escalation from Trump, who had previously said the US was targeting only military sites on Kharg, and dealt a blow to diplomatic efforts to end a war that has spread across the Middle East and killed more than 2,000 people, most in Iran and Lebanon.

With global air transport heavily disrupted and no clear end in sight, Iran's ability to choke off traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, the conduit for a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas, has emerged as a decisive threat to the global economy.

Although some Iranian vessels have continued to pass and a few ships from other countries have successfully made the crossing, the passage has been effectively closed for most of the world's tanker traffic since the United States and Israel attacked Iran on February 28 at the start of an intensive bombing campaign that has hit thousands of targets across the country.