China and France Among Nations Trump Urges to Join Hormuz Naval Coalition

President Donald Trump made an unusual public appeal on Saturday, calling on China, France, Japan, South Korea, and the UK to send warships to the Strait of Hormuz as part of a multinational naval force to keep the waterway open. The appeal, posted on Trump’s Truth Social platform, was the first time he had publicly acknowledged that the United States might need international assistance to reopen the strait, which Iran had kept closed since the war began on February 28. The Strait of Hormuz handles roughly 20 percent of the world’s daily oil and gas shipments.
The call for a coalition came as the US continued its intensive air campaign against Iran. US warplanes struck Kharg Island on Friday and pressed on with additional raids on Saturday. Trump said in public statements the island had been effectively demolished and suggested further strikes were possible, adding he was not ready to negotiate with Iran because the terms were not good enough. The USS Tripoli and 2,500 additional marines were already heading to the region, reinforcing American military capacity without guaranteeing a specific operational plan.
Iran showed no sign of yielding. Ballistic missiles struck the UAE on Saturday, forcing a suspension of oil operations at Fujairah — a globally important ship-refuelling hub — and sending dark smoke into the sky over the coastal port. Iran’s military warned UAE residents near ports and US installations to evacuate, and threatened to strike any Gulf energy facility with American ties. The country’s foreign minister called on Arab neighbours to remove US forces, framing the American military presence as a source of destabilisation rather than protection.
Israel continued its own air campaign against Iran, launching dozens of strikes aimed at degrading the country’s missile systems and security forces. At least 15 people died in an Israeli strike on a factory in Isfahan. Iran fired rockets at Israel simultaneously. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said Iranian leaders were “desperate and hiding” and claimed the new supreme leader had been wounded in an earlier strike. Iranian officials confirmed the injury but disputed its severity. Analysts said Iran’s regime remained operational and was pursuing a calculated strategy of prolonged conflict.
The war’s human and economic costs were mounting. More than 1,400 Iranians had been killed in the bombing campaign. Thirteen Israelis and around 20 Gulf residents had also died. The US embassy in Baghdad was hit by missiles and Americans in Iraq were ordered to leave immediately. Six US troops died in an aircraft crash in western Iraq. Lebanon was suffering in parallel, with over 800 killed and 850,000 displaced from Israeli operations against Hezbollah. Oil prices were rising rapidly, and analysts warned the global economic impact could become severe if the conflict continued without resolution.