Donald Trump is reaching out to Britain and a host of other nations to join a coalition aimed at securing the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial maritime corridor currently under threat. The former U.S. President has extended similar appeals to countries such as France, Japan, South Korea, and China, despite the latter being a long-standing geopolitical adversary of the United States.
Trump’s recent post on Truth Social underscores the gravity of the situation, suggesting that Iran’s actions have significantly threatened the passageway’s accessibility. The Strait of Hormuz is vital for global oil transport, and any prolonged disruption could have severe economic consequences worldwide.
In a series of recent escalations, Iran has launched missile strikes targeting vessels traversing the Strait. Additionally, Tehran has reportedly deployed explosive-laden ships with threats to drive oil prices to a staggering $200 per barrel.
Trump emphasized the international response, stating, “Many countries, especially those directly affected by Iran’s move to close the Hormuz Strait, will collaborate with the United States by dispatching warships to ensure the Strait remains open and secure.”
He further claimed, “We have already obliterated 100% of Iran’s military capacity, yet they can still deploy a drone, lay a mine, or fire a missile at close range along this critical Waterway, regardless of their defeats.”
‘We have already destroyed 100% of Iran’s military capability, but it’s easy for them to send a drone or two, drop a mine, or deliver a close-range missile somewhere along, or in, this Waterway, no matter how badly defeated they are.’
Trump went on to call on several states that ‘are affected by this artificial constraint’, including the UK, to send vessels to Strait in a bid to help unblock one of the world’s most important shippin routes.
‘In the meantime, the United States will be bombing the hell out of the shoreline, and continually shooting Iranian boats and ships out of the water,’ he said, later vowing to get the passage ‘open, safe and free’ ‘one way or another’.
Meanwhile, Britain’s HMS Dragon was only just deployed on Tuesday and has spent the last three days ‘bobbing around in the Channel’ after being sent to defend the nation’s forces from Iranian drone attacks in Cyprus.
Donald Trump has asked for Britain’s help to save the Strait of Hormuz from closure in a new social media post
HMS Dragon sets sail from Portsmouth Harbour on March 10, 2026
The US President’s new post asking other nations for help in opening the Strait of Hormuz suggests Iran has been successful in closing the passage
And the £1billion Type-45 destroyer only departed from UK waters yesterday, despite having been deployed several days earlier amid mounting criticism over Britain’s slow response to the conflict.
After leaving the harbour, the warship switched off its transporter – a system which broadcasts a vessel’s position – meaning its movements could no longer be publicly monitored.
HMS Dragon had also been scheduled to stop at Plymouth for a crew change, but those plans were reportedly abandoned as pressure mounted to get the vessel to the eastern Mediterranean.
And despite previous rebukes to the US-Israel’s attacks on Iran, Sir Keir Starmer ordered HMS Dragon’s departure after RAF Akrotiri, in Cyprus, was struck by an enemy drone on March 1.
And while the Royal Navy vessel, which is heading to the Mediterranean Sea, is equipped with the country’s best air defence missiles and can launch several interceptor missiles at once, Sir Keir continues to be criticised for his slow response.
HMS Dragon should have been ready to sail at 72 hours’ notice. It was docked and undergoing wielding work before being thrust back into service by the Royal Navy.
Navy sources have since insisted ‘they did six weeks’ work in six days’ to get her ready to sail to Cyprus, however, this explanation has done little to quieten critics.
Elsewhere, HMS Prince of Wales was recently upgraded to advanced readiness, amid the ongoing criticism of Britain’s military response to the conflict in the Middle East.
This means the crew of the £3billion ship, currently undergoing repairs in Portsmouth, must be ready to sail with five days’ notice.
It comes after Donald Trump launched a scathing attack on the Prime Minister, saying: ‘This is not Winston Churchill we are dealing with.’
The US President delivered a withering verdict on the Prime Minister as he continued to fume at Sir Keir for failing to back US and Israeli strikes on Iran.
In comments that immediately plunged the so-called ‘special relationship’ into an unprecedented crisis, Mr Trump declared that he was ‘not happy’ with the PM and accused him of being ‘very, very uncooperative’.
Speaking in the White House, the US President hit out again at Sir Keir’s initial decision to block the US using British bases to launch attacks on Tehran.
In an apparent reference to Diego Garcia in the Chagos Islands, the US President said: ‘That island… It’s taken three, four days for us to work out where we can land there.
‘It would have been much more convenient landing there as opposed to flying many extra hours, so we are very surprised.’
Referring to Britain’s war-time PM, a bust of whom sits in the Oval Office, Mr Trump added: ‘This is not Winston Churchill that we’re dealing with.’
The US President went on to criticise the UK’s approach to the ‘stupid island’ as he issued a fresh blast at Sir Keir’s bid to cede sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.
‘This is not the age of Churchill. I will say the UK has been very, very uncooperative with that stupid island that they have, that they gave away and took a 100-year lease,’ he told reporters in the Oval Office, as he sat alongside German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
‘Having to do with, perhaps, indigenous people claiming the island that never even saw the island before. What’s that all about? They ruin relationships, it’s a shame.’
Today, a missile has struck a helipad inside the US Embassy in Baghdad with plumes of smoke seen above in the skies of the Iraqi capital.
It comes after Donald Trump said on Truth Social that the US had ‘totally obliterated’ all military targets in ‘Iran’s crown jewel’, Kharg Island.
The US President also vowed to ‘wipe out’ oil infrastructure on the island if Iran continued its attacks on vessels on the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran retaliated by striking a major oil hub in the UAE, with clouds of black smoke seen billowing into the skies above the port of Fujairah following a drone attack.
Former Iranian foreign minister Manouchehr Mottaki, has also threatened to ‘capture’ US forces if they make an attempt to seize oil infrastructure in Kharg Island.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has also warned that US ‘hideouts’ in the UAE are ‘legitimate’ targets after Trump attacked the export terminal.
