Washington: European leaders and Japan say they are ready to help unblock the Strait of Hormuz following a week of hectoring by US President Donald Trump and escalating attacks on Middle East energy infrastructure that have worsened spiking oil prices.
A joint statement by the leaders of the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Japan on Thursday (Washington time) condemned Iran for its attacks on commercial shipping vessels and civilian energy facilities, as well as its de facto closure of the crucial maritime passage.
“We call for an immediate comprehensive moratorium on attacks on civilian infrastructure, including oil and gas installations,” the leaders said.
“We express our readiness to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait. We welcome the commitment of nations who are engaging in preparatory planning.”
The leaders did not provide details about what those efforts would entail. Trump had urged NATO allies and others to send warships to escort oil tankers through the strait – pleas that have so far been rebuffed.
The statement came as Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi visited Trump at the White House – the first leader of a major US ally to meet the president since he began demanding allied assistance to reopen the strait amid the US-Israeli war against Iran.
Takaichi began with a blunt assessment of the “very severe security environment” in the Middle East and the “huge hit” it was causing to the global economy.
“But even against that backdrop, I firmly believe that it is only you, Donald, who can achieve peace across the world,” she said.
Positioning herself as a conduit between the US and other allies, Takaichi said Japan stood was ready to reach out to other countries to coordinate efforts to achieve mutual objectives in the region. Japan’s foreign minister had directly urged his Iranian counterpart to stop the regime’s malign actions in the strait, she added.
While the details of any Japanese assistance were still to be discussed during the bilateral meeting, Trump said Japan was “really stepping up to the plate – unlike NATO”.
Asked by a Japanese reporter why he did not inform allies about the war in advance, Trump said he did not want to give away his plans.
“We didn’t tell anybody about it because we wanted [it to be a] surprise,” Trump said. “Who knows better about surprise than Japan. Why didn’t you tell me about Pearl Harbour? Right?”
The US president was not asked during the news conference about the latest statement from European leaders, and the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In retaliation for an Israeli strike on Iran’s massive South Pars natural gas field, the regime fired missiles and drones at energy facilities in Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, hitting a major Qatari liquefied natural gas facility.
Qatar’s state energy company said its Ras Laffan facility sustained severe damage in the attack. The country’s energy minister, Saad Sherida al-Kaabi, told Reuters that the Iranian attacks have eliminated 17 per cent of Qatar’s LNG export capacity, causing an estimated $US20 billion ($28 billion) in lost value.
The attacks have caused widespread concern, including in Australia, about the escalating conflict and its impact on world markets and consumer prices. The price of Brent crude, the global oil standard, briefly rose above $US119 a barrel on Thursday.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, whom Trump has harshly criticised for his reluctance to participate in the war, said he condemned the Iranian strikes in the strongest possible terms.
“We are working towards a swift resolution to the situation in the Middle East, in the best interests of the British people – because there is no question that ending the war is the quickest way to reduce the cost of living,” Starmer said on X.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese echoed those sentiments on Thursday. “We do not want to see the conflict escalate further,” he said.
Earlier, Trump distanced himself from the Israeli attack on Iran’s South Pars natural gas reserve – the world’s largest – and promised Israel would not do it again unless Iran continued to retaliate.
However, those claims were questioned by US media reports that said Washington was aware of the Israeli attack in advance and even supported it.
On Thursday, Trump said he had spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the attacks on oil and gas infrastructure.
“I told him don’t do that, and he won’t do that. We’re independent, we get along great, it’s co-ordinated – but on occasion, he’ll do something, and if I don’t like it … so we’re not doing that any more.”
Iran’s foreign minister, meanwhile, vowed that Iran would retaliate with “ZERO restraint” if its infrastructure was struck again. Posting on X, Seyed Abbas Araghchi also said that any end to the war “must address damage to our civilian sites”.
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Michael Koziol is the North America correspondent for The Age and Sydney Morning Herald. He is a former Sydney editor, Sun-Herald deputy editor and a federal political reporter in Canberra.Connect via X or email.