US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz said today discussions are underway for countries to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, after President Donald Trump said a day earlier that allies could join the US in sending naval forces to secure the vital shipping route amid military strikes in Iran.
Waltz told CNN’s “State of the Union” that “the conversations are ongoing,” adding that the US will “certainly welcome, encourage and even demand their participation to help their own economies.”
It comes after Trump in a social media post Saturday claimed that “other countries” will be sending warships “in conjunction” with the US. But in the same post, Trump said that, “Hopefully China, France, Japan, South Korea, the UK, and others” will send ships to the region.
CNN reached out to the White House yesterday for clarity on Trump’s post, as well as asking South Korea, Japan, China and France whether they plan to deploy naval assets to the region.
China and the UK responded to CNN’s requests for comment, with neither confirming they will be sending ships. A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington said the country is calling for an immediate stop to hostilities, and that “all parties have the responsibility to ensure stable and unimpeded energy supply.”
A senior official from the Japanese government said that any decision to dispatch Japanese naval vessels to the Middle East to escort ships would face “high hurdles.”
A spokesperson for the British Ministry of Defense, meanwhile, said the UK is “currently discussing with our allies and partners a range of options to ensure the security of shipping in the region.”
CNN’s Riane Lumer, Max Saltman, Billy Stockwell, Chris Lau and Hanako Montgomery contributed to this report.