US allies rebuff Trump's request for support in Strait of Hormuz

US allies said they had no immediate plans to send ships to unblock the Strait of Hormuz, rebuffing a request by President Donald Trump for military support to keep the vital waterway open.

Trump called on nations to help police the strait after Iran responded to US-Israeli attacks by using drones, missiles and mines to effectively close the strategic channel off its shores for tankers transporting a fifth of global oil supply.

Most NATO countries, several of whom have been at the sharp end of criticism from Trump in recent months, are usually wary of angering the White House but are now signalling reluctance to become embroiled in the conflict with Tehran.

"What does (...) Donald Trump expect a handful or two handfuls of European frigates to do in the Strait of Hormuz that the powerful US navy cannot do?" German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said in Berlin on Monday, as he downplayed threats by Trump that failing to come to Washington's aid could have consequences for the NATO alliance.

"This is not our war, we have not started it," he added.

The conflict has nothing to do with NATO and Germany has no plans to be drawn into it, government spokesperson Stefan Kornelius said.

"Neither the United States nor Israel consulted us before the war, and ... Washington explicitly stated at the outset of the war that European assistance was neither necessary nor desired," the spokesperson said.

Still, some allies signaled a cautious willingness to help.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the bloc is in talks with the United Nations about replicating a deal that allows for grain to be exported out of Ukraine during its war with Russia.

Denmark an outlier

Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said on Monday ahead of the EU ministers' meeting that it would be wise to keep an open mind to this question "as the small country that we are, but a large maritime nation".

Even if Europe did not support the US-Israeli decision to go to war, "we must face the world as it is, not as we want it to be", he told journalists.

Stronger allies reject, downplay naval mission

Japan: Japan does not currently plan to dispatch naval vessels to escort ships in the Middle East, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said on Monday.

"We have not made any decisions whatsoever about dispatching escort ships. We are continuing to examine what Japan can do independently and what can be done within the legal framework," Takaichi told parliament.

Takaichi will travel to Washington this week for talks with Trump that she said will cover the conflict with Iran.

Australia: Australia will not send naval ships to assist in reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a government minister said on Monday.

"We won't be sending a ship to the Strait of Hormuz. We know how incredibly important that is, but that's not something that we've been asked or that we're contributing to," Catherine King, a member of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's cabinet, said in an interview with state broadcaster ABC.

South Korea: "We will communicate closely with the US regarding this matter and make a decision after careful review," South Korea's presidential office said on Sunday.

Under South Korea's constitution, overseas troop deployments require parliamentary approval, and opposition figures have said any dispatch of warships to the Strait would need consent from the legislature.

Britain: Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Monday he would not be "drawn into the wider Iran war" whilst reiterating he was working with allies to reopen the Strait.

"We are working with others to come up with a credible plan for the Strait of Hormuz to ensure that we can reopen shipping and passage through the Strait. Let me be clear, that won't be and it's never been envisioned to be a NATO mission," he told reporters.

The UK has autonomous mine-hunting systems that could be used, Starmer said.

European Union: EU foreign ministers will on Monday discuss bolstering a small naval mission in the Middle East but they are not expected to discuss expanding its role to include the choked-off Strait, diplomats and officials say.

The EU's Aspides mission – named after the Greek word for "shields" – was established in 2024 to protect ships from attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebel group in the Red Sea.

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said in an interview with Germany's ARD television on Sunday that he was "very sceptical" that extending Aspides to the ⁠Strait of Hormuz would provide greater security.

Italy: Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on Monday that diplomacy was the right way to solve the crisis in the Strait, adding there were no naval missions Italy was involved in that could be extended to the area.

Greece: A government spokesperson said on Monday that Greece would not engage in military operations in the Strait of Hormuz.

China talking with all sides

China is talking with all sides about the strait as it seeks to de-escalate the conflict, its foreign ministry said on Monday.