Trump says he’s demanded about 7 countries send warships to keep Strait of Hormuz open

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CAIRO — U.S. 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 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 per cent 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.

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.

More missile and drone attacks are reported

Gulf Arab states including the United Arab Emirates, 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 neighboring country’s non-U.S. assets.

Dubai temporarily suspended flights at its international airport -- the world’s busiest -- after a drone hit a fuel tank and caused a fire. Civil defense crews contained the blaze and no injuries were reported, authorities said.

Tehran has claimed that Friday’s U.S. strikes on Kharg Island, home to Iran’s primary oil terminal, were launched from the UAE, without providing evidence. It has threatened to attack U.S.-linked “oil, economic and energy infrastructures” if its oil infrastructure is hit.

U.S. 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 U.S. bases have denied allowing their land or airspace to be used for military operations against Iran.

Iran has fired hundreds of missiles and drones at Arab Gulf neighbors during the war, causing significant damage and rattling economies even as most are intercepted. Tehran says it targets U.S. assets, even as Iranian strikes are reported at civilian sites such as airports and oil fields.

War’s toll mounts across the region

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.

Iran’s government on Sunday showed journalists buildings damaged by strikes in Tehran on Friday. A police station was hit and surrounding buildings were damaged. Some apartments’ outer walls had been stripped away.

“God had mercy on all of us,” said Elham Movagghari, a resident. Other Iranians are leaving the country.

In Israel, 12 people have been killed by Iranian missile fire and more have been injured, including three on Sunday. At least 13 U.S. military members have been killed, six in a plane crash in Iraq last week.

At least 820 people have been killed in Lebanon, according to its Health Ministry, since Iran-backed Hezbollah hit Israel and Israel responded with strikes and sent additional troops into southern Lebanon. In just 10 days, more than 800,000 people -- nearly one out of every seven residents of Lebanon -- have been displaced.

More Iranian missile strikes hit Israel

Israel’s military said early Monday that Iran launched missiles toward Israel.

Earlier, several strikes hit central Israel and the Tel Aviv area, where they caused damage at 23 sites and sparked a small fire. Magen David Adom, Israel’s rescue service, released video showing a large crater in a street and shrapnel damage to an apartment building.

Israel’s military says Iran is firing cluster bombs that can evade some air defenses and scatter submunitions across multiple locations.

Sam Metz, Samy Magdy and Julia Frankel, The Associated Press

Metz reported from Ramallah, West Bank, and Frankel from Jerusalem. Associated Press journalists Sally Abou AlJoud and Fadi Tawil in Beirut, and Tia Goldenberg in Washington contributed to this report.