Trump warns he ‘may delay’ China visit in demand for countries to secure Hormuz
US President Donald Trump on Sunday sought to pressure Nato allies and China to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the critical oil transport conduit that Iran has effectively closed in retaliation for the US and Israeli war against Tehran.
With the conflict creating turmoil across the Middle East and shaking up global energy markets in its third week, Trump insisted that nations relying heavily on oil from the Gulf have a responsibility to help protect 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.
Though he declined to identify the 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 per cent of the world’s oil.
He said in a social media post he hoped China, France, Japan, South Korea, Britain and others would participate.