Trump Urges UK, Others To Send Ships To Secure Strait Of Hormuz

United States President Donald Trump has called on the UK and other nations to join it in sending ships to help secure the Strait of Hormuz.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said despite Iran’s attempted closure of the passage, one way or the other, they would soon get the Hormuz Strait open, safe and free.

The UK Maritime Trade Operations said 16 ships operating in and around the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman had been attacked since the war started.

On Thursday, Iran’s new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei vowed to keep blocking the strait in his first public statement.

Meanwhile, strikes continued across the Middle East yesterday, with sirens sounding in Jerusalem after the Israeli military said it had detected new attacks from Iran.

An Iranian government spokesperson said more than 200 students and teachers had been killed in the last two weeks, and 120 schools had been “severely damaged”.

Iran’s foreign minister said his country would respond to any attack on Iranian energy facilities by targeting US companies in the region, according to the Tasnim News Agency, which is affiliated with the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps.

Abbas Araghchi was quoted as saying: “If Iranian facilities are targeted, our forces will target facilities of American companies in the region or companies in which the United States has shares.

“We will definitely respond to these attacks, while at the same time acting with caution so that densely populated areas are not targeted.”

It came hours after the US military targeted Kharg Island – critical to Iran as it’s thought about 90% of its oil exports pass through the island.

An Iranian news agency later said the US had targeted air defences, a naval base, an airport control tower and a helicopter hangar – it added there had been no damage to oil infrastructure.