US President Donald Trump’s appeal to China, France, Japan, South Korea, Britain and others to send warships to keep the Strait of Hormuz “open and safe” brought no commitments on Sunday as oil prices soar during the Iran war.
Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi told CBS that Tehran has been “approached by a number of countries” seeking safe passage for their vessels, “and this is up to our military to decide”.
He said a group of vessels from “different countries” had been allowed to pass, without providing details.
Iran has said the strait, through which one fifth of global oil exports normally pass, is open to all except the United States and its allies.
Mr Araghchi added that “we don’t see any reason why we should talk with Americans” about finding a way to end the war, noting that Israel and the US started the fighting with coordinated attacks on February 28 during indirect talks on Iran’s nuclear programme.
He also said Tehran had “no plan to recover” the enriched uranium that is under rubble following US and Israeli attacks last year.
US President Donald Trump said he hoped allies would send warships to secure the Strait of Hormuz (Mark Schiefelbein/AP)
Mr Trump said that he has demanded that about seven countries send warships to keep the Strait of Hormuz open.
Tehran has accused the United States of using “ports, docks and hideouts” in the United Arab Emirates to launch strikes on Kharg Island, home to the main terminal handling Iran’s oil exports, without providing evidence, as oil prices soared.
Mr Trump said the US is negotiating with countries heavily reliant on Middle East crude to join a coalition to police the waterway, but declined to name them.
Mr Trump also suggested he may delay his much-anticipated visit to China at the end of the month as he seeks to ramp up the pressure on Beijing to help reopen the strait.
In an interview on Sunday with the Financial Times, Mr Trump said China’s reliance on oil from the Middle East means it ought to help with a new coalition he is trying to put together to get oil tanker traffic moving.
Mr Trump said “we’d like to know” before the trip whether Beijing will help. “We may delay,” Mr Trump said in the interview.
Dubai International Airport — the world’s busiest — suspended operations after a drone struck a fuel tank, starting a fire. Authorities said it was quickly contained and no injuries were reported.
Two men ride their motorbike past a billboard of the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei in central Tehran (Vahid Salemi/AP)
The United Arab Emirates’ Defence Ministry said forces were intercepting Iranian missiles and drones on Monday morning.
Meanwhile, Israeli strikes have deepened Lebanon’s humanitarian crisis, with more than 850 people killed and over 850,000 displaced.
US energy secretary Chris Wright told NBC he has been “in dialogue” with some of the countries Mr Trump mentioned, and said he expected China “will be a constructive partner” in reopening the strait.
A spokesperson for China’s embassy to the US, Liu Pengyu, said “all parties have the responsibility to ensure stable and unimpeded energy supply” and that China would “strengthen communication with relevant parties” for de-escalation.
A man chants slogan while the body of General Ali Shamkhani, who was killed in a strike, is being buried in Tehran (Vahid Salemi/AP)
South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said it “takes note” of Mr Trump’s call and that it “will closely coordinate and carefully review” the situation with the US.
Expectations are high that Mr Trump will ask Japan directly when Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi meets him on Thursday at the White House.
France previously said it is working with countries — President Emmanuel Macron mentioned partners in Europe, India and Asia — on a possible international mission to escort ships through the strait but has stressed it must be when “the circumstances permit”, when fighting has subsided.
Foreign minister Johann Wadephul of Germany, which was not mentioned in Mr Trump’s call, told ARD television: “Will we soon be an active part of this conflict? No.”
(PA Graphics)
Meanwhile, emergency oil stocks “will soon start flowing to global markets,” the International Energy Agency said on Sunday, describing the collective action to lower prices “by far the largest ever”.
It updated last week’s announcement of 400 million barrels to nearly 412 million. Asian member countries plan to release stocks “immediately” and reserves from Europe and the Americas will be released “from the end of March.”
Gulf Arab states including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain reported new missile or drone attacks a day after Iran called for the evacuation of three major ports in the United Arab Emirates — the first time it has threatened a neighbouring country’s non-US assets.
Tehran has accused the US of launching Friday’s strikes on Kharg Island, home to Iran’s primary oil terminal, from the UAE. It has threatened to attack US-linked “oil, economic and energy infrastructures” if its oil infrastructure is hit.
US Central Command said it had no response to Iran’s claim, and Anwar Gargash, a diplomatic adviser to the UAE president, rejected it. Gulf countries that host US bases have denied allowing their land or airspace to be used for military operations against Iran.
Fire and plumes of smoke rise from an oil facility in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates (Altaf Qadri/AP)
Iran has fired hundreds of missiles and drones at Arab Gulf neighbours during the war, causing significant damage and rattling economies even as most are intercepted. Tehran says it targets US assets, even as Iranian strikes are reported at civilian sites such as airports and oil fields.
Iranian strikes have killed at least a dozen civilians in Gulf countries, most of them migrant workers.
In Iran, the International Committee for the Red Cross said more than 1,300 people have been killed. Iran’s Health Ministry said 223 women and 202 children are among the dead, according to Mizan, the judiciary’s official news agency.