Trump asks ‘about 7′ countries for help to open the Strait of Hormuz

CAIRO — President Donald Trump said Sunday that he has demanded about seven countries send warships to keep the Strait of Hormuz open, but his appeals have brought no commitments as oil prices soar during the Iran war.

The president declined to name the countries heavily reliant on Middle East crude that the administration is negotiating with to join a coalition to police the waterway where about one-fifth of the world’s traded oil normally flows.

“I’m demanding that these countries come in and protect their own territory, because it is their own territory,” Trump said about the strait, claiming the shipping channel is not something the United States needs because of its own access to oil. Trump spoke while answering reporters’ questions as he flew back to Washington from Florida aboard Air Force One.

Trump said China gets about 90% of its oil from the strait, while the U.S. gets a minimal amount. He declined to discuss whether China will join the coalition.

“It would be nice to have other countries police that with us, and we’ll help. We’ll work with them,” Trump said. Previously, he has appealed to China, France, Japan, South Korea and Britain.

Protesters in Seoul, South Korea, shout slogans March 16 against Donald Trump's demands to multiple countries to send warships to keep the Strait of Hormuz open. (Lee Jin-man/AP)

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi earlier 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 is open to all except the United States and its allies.

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 U.S. started the fighting with coordinated attacks on Feb. 28 during indirect U.S.-Iran talks on Iran’s nuclear program. He also said Tehran had “no plan to recover” the enriched uranium that is under rubble following U.S. and Israeli attacks last year.

Countries are cautious after Trump’s call

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright told NBC earlier Sunday that he has been “in dialogue” with some of the countries Trump had mentioned previously, and said he expected China “will be a constructive partner” in reopening the strait.

But countries made no promises.

Britain said Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Sunday discussed with Trump the importance of reopening the strait “to end the disruption to global shipping,” and spoke with Canada’s prime minister about it separately.

Aboard Air Force One, Trump specifically named Starmer, who he said initially declined to put British aircraft carriers “into harm’s way.”

“Whether we get support or not, but I can say this, and I said to them: We will remember,” Trump said.

A spokesperson for China’s embassy to the U.S., Liu Pengyu, said previously that “all parties have the responsibility to ensure stable and unimpeded energy supply” and that China would “strengthen communication with relevant parties” for de-escalation.

South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said it “takes note” of Trump’s call and that it “will closely coordinate and carefully review” the situation with the U.S.

Expectations are high that 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 Trump’s call, told ARD television: “Will we soon be an active part of this conflict? No.”

Meanwhile, emergency oil stocks “will soon start flowing to global markets,” the International Energy Agency said 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.”

Trump didn’t directly answer whether his administration is talking about selling oil futures as a way to cap surging oil prices.

“The prices are going to come tumbling down as soon as it’s over. And it’s going to be over pretty quickly,” he told reporters.

开罗——美国总统唐纳德·特朗普周日表示，他已要求约七个国家派遣军舰保持霍尔木兹海峡畅通，但由于伊朗战争期间油价飙升，他的呼吁并未得到任何承诺。

总统拒绝透露政府正在与哪些严重依赖中东原油的国家进行谈判，以期这些国家加入一个联盟，共同监管这条水道。这条水道通常是全球约五分之一石油贸易的经线。

特朗普在谈到霍尔木兹海峡时表示：“我要求这些国家介入并保护他们自己的领土，因为那是他们的领土。”他声称，由于美国自身拥有石油资源，因此不需要这条航道。特朗普是在乘坐空军一号从佛罗里达返回华盛顿的途中回答记者提问时发表这番言论的。

特朗普表示，中国约90%的石油来自霍尔木兹海峡，而美国仅占极小一部分。他拒绝讨论中国是否会加入该联盟。

特朗普说：“如果其他国家能和我们一起负责这方面的执法工作，那就太好了，我们会提供帮助，我们会与他们合作。”此前，他曾向中国、法国、日本、韩国和英国发出过类似的呼吁。

3月16日，韩国首尔的抗议者高喊口号，反对唐纳德·特朗普要求多个国家派遣军舰维持霍尔木兹海峡畅通的呼吁。（李镇万/美联社）

伊朗外交部长阿巴斯·阿拉格奇早前告诉哥伦比亚广播公司（CBS），“一些国家”已与德黑兰接洽，寻求其船只安全通行，“这最终由我们的军方决定”。他表示，来自“不同国家”的一批船只已被允许通过，但未提供更多细节。

伊朗表示，除美国及其盟国外，海峡对所有国家开放。

阿拉格奇补充说，“我们看不到任何理由要与美国人讨论”如何结束战争，并指出以色列和美国在2月28日美伊就伊朗核计划进行间接会谈期间发动了协同攻击，挑起了这场战争。他还表示，德黑兰“没有计划回收”去年美以袭击后被埋在废墟下的浓缩铀。

特朗普致电后，各国态度谨慎。

美国能源部长克里斯·赖特周日早些时候告诉NBC，他一直在与特朗普之前提到的一些国家进行“对话”，并表示他预计中国“将成为重新开放海峡的建设性伙伴”。

但各国并未做出任何承诺。

英国方面表示，首相基尔·斯塔默周日与特朗普讨论了重新开放海峡“以结束对全球航运的干扰”的重要性，并单独与加拿大总理就此进行了交谈。

在空军一号上，特朗普特别提到了斯塔默，他说斯塔默最初拒绝将英国航空母舰置于“危险境地”。

“无论我们是否获得支持，但我可以这样说，我也对他们说了：我们会记住的，”特朗普说。

中国驻美国大使馆发言人刘鹏宇此前表示，“各方都有责任确保能源供应稳定畅通”，中国将“加强与有关各方的沟通”，以缓和局势。

韩国外交部表示“注意到”特朗普的通话，并将“与美国密切协调并仔细评估”当前局势。

人们普遍预期，特朗普将在周四于白宫会见日本首相高市早苗时直接向日本提出相关问题。

法国此前表示，正在与各国合作——总统埃马纽埃尔·马克龙提到了欧洲、印度和亚洲的伙伴——开展一项可能的国际任务，护送船只通过海峡，但强调必须在“情况允许”的时候，即战斗平息之后才能进行。

德国外交部长约翰·瓦德普尔（特朗普通话中并未提及德国）告诉德国电视一台（ARD）：“我们会很快成为这场冲突的积极参与者吗？不会。”

与此同时，国际能源署周日表示，紧急石油储备“将很快开始流入全球市场”，并称此次降低油价的集体行动是“迄今为止规模最大的”。

上周宣布的4亿桶原油储备增加到近4.12亿桶。亚洲成员国计划“立即”释放库存，欧洲和美洲的储备将“从3月底开始”释放。

特朗普没有直接回答他的政府是否正在讨论出售石油期货以抑制油价飙升的问题。

“一旦疫情结束，价格就会暴跌。而且疫情很快就会结束，”他告诉记者。