Sun 15 March 2026:
United States President Donald Trump has said “many countries” will dispatch warships to keep the Strait of Hormuz open, without offering details about which states are on board.
This comes as the waterway that carries a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas remains effectively closed on the 15th day of the US and Israel’s war on Iran.
Writing on Truth Social on Saturday, Trump said nations, “especially those affected by Iran’s attempted closure” of the strait, would be sending warships “in conjunction with the United States of America, to keep the Strait open and safe,” naming China, France, Japan, South Korea and the United Kingdom among those he hoped would contribute.
In the post, Trump asserted that the US had “already destroyed 100% of Iran’s Military capability,” while conceding in the same breath that Tehran could still “send a drone or two, drop a mine, or deliver a close range missile” along the waterway.
He pledged that in the meantime, the US would be “bombing the hell out of the shoreline, and continually shooting Iranian Boats and Ships out of the water,” promising to get the strait “OPEN, SAFE, and FREE.”
In response, Alireza Tangsiri, the navy chief of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said, “The Strait of Hormuz has not yet been militarily closed and is merely under control.”
In a post on X, he hit back against Trump’s comments, saying, “Americans falsely claimed the destruction of Iran’s navy. Then they falsely claimed the escorting of oil tankers. Now they’re even asking others for backup forces.”
In a follow-up post on Truth Social, Trump said, “The Countries of the World that receive Oil through the Hormuz Strait must take care of that passage, and we will help — A LOT!”
He said the US would “coordinate with those Countries so that everything goes quickly, smoothly, and well,” calling it a “team effort”.
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‘Millions’ at risk
The closure is also threatening global food security, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
The strait is a critical conduit for LNG exports, the primary feedstock for the nitrogen-based fertilisers used to grow the staple grains and cereals that provide more than 40 percent of global caloric intake.
India, facing a critical cooking gas shortage, has invoked emergency powers to protect 333 million LPG-dependent homes.
UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher has warned that “millions of people are at risk” if humanitarian cargo cannot pass safely through the strait.
Hegseth dismissed suggestions that the Pentagon had been caught off guard by the strait’s closure on Saturday. “We have been dealing with it, and don’t need to worry about it,” he said.
Trump’s push to send warships to Hormuz risks ‘dangerous’, ‘difficult’ mission
It’s unlikely that countries will agree to send warships to the Strait of Hormuz despite Trump’s call, says Mohamad Elmasry, a professor of media studies at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies.
He said this is “a really difficult task” that Trump is underestimating.
“These are slow-moving ships. They travel about 25km [15.5 miles] per hour. They are massive targets in a very narrow waterway,” said Elmasry.
“Iran can strike the ships in the strait from anywhere on Iranian territory because those Shahed drones have a range of up to 2,500km [1,600 miles], and the strait is very close to the Iranian mainland. So Iran can really wreak havoc on the strait if it wants to.”
It’s a very “dangerous proposition”, and this is why insurance companies are not willing to insure ships or their crews, he added.
Trump’s comment shatters US image as reliable security partner
Trump has said the US might continue to bomb Iran’s Kharg Island “just for fun”. Al Jazeera asked analyst Samir Puri if comments like this could shatter the image of the US as a reliable security partner to the Gulf countries.
“When a major or superpower offers security guarantees, it’s not just about the hardware” and the army capabilities, “it’s also about the sense of strategic common sense that comes with it, that this is a responsible actor”, said Puri, a war studies visiting lecturer at King’s College London.
Other members of the Trump administration have also acted in ways that may make Gulf states question whether the US is a stable long-term partner, said Puri.
“Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth appears to be taking an enormous delight for destruction’s sake in terms of the way the US is approaching the war” in Iran, he added.
While there has been a long-term rivalry between Iran and Arab states, “there’s also an intense desire for stability”, and the question among Gulf states will be whether the US can continue to maintain stability in the region, said Puri.
This is a valid question, “given that it’s arguably radicalising further an already radicalised Iranian theocratic regime, which already has apocalyptic visions about its own destiny, its own sense of martyrdom, many of which” they feel have been validated given that the US and Israel launched strikes on their country during negotiations, said Puri.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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