Two more nations signed on to a letter Saturday strongly condemning Iran’s partial blockade of the Strait of Hormuz – isolating the Islamic Republic diplomatically as it seeks to apply maximum economic pressure by bottling up oil shipments.
The two latest to join are Australia and the United Arab Emirates – one of Iran’s Gulf neighbors who has been bombarded with missile attacks from Tehran – bringing the total to 22 countries.
Earlier signatories were the UK, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Japan, whose Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told reporters Thursday that she informed President Trump what her country “can do and cannot do,” citing war limits outlined in Japan’s constitution.
“They are really stepping up to the plate,” Trump said at the White House, despite his on and off fury that allies weren’t sharing more of the burden.
Later Friday, he posted that the Strait “will have to be guarded and policed, as necessary, by other Nations who use it — The United States does not!”
Defense experts said naval escorts to protect shipping would require the use of destroyers. Following Iran’s initial threats to US, Israeli and allied ships, vessels flagged to China, India, Turkey and Pakistan have continued to trickle through the crucial corridor.
Iran was also preparing to allow Japanese ships to pass through the strait, Al Jazeera reported.
“We have not closed the strait. In our opinion, the strait is open. It is closed only to ships belonging to our enemies, countries that attack us. For other countries, ships can pass through the strait,” Araghchi told Japan’s Kyodo News late Friday.
The 22 countries, meanwhile, blasted Tehran for recent attacks on “unarmed” vessels in a joint statement.
“We condemn in the strongest terms recent attacks by Iran on unarmed commercial vessels in the Gulf, attacks on civilian infrastructure, including oil and gas installations, and the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iranian forces,” the countries said in the statement.
“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,” it continued, without specifying the nature of that support.
Putting an end to oil exports from the Gulf region amounts to “removing close to 20 percent of global oil supplies from the market, about 80 percent of which is shipped to Asia,” according to a paper released by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas on Friday.
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