Trump demands other countries help secure vital Strait of Hormuz as Iran vows defiance
CNA
Trump also said that he may delay his trip to China, saying he would prefer to know Beijing’s position on the issue before the planned visit.
PALM BEACH, Florida: President Donald Trump said on Sunday (Mar 15) his administration is talking to seven countries about helping to secure the Strait of Hormuz amid the US-Israeli war on Iran, calling on them to help protect ships in the vital waterway that Tehran has mostly blocked to oil tanker traffic.
With the conflict creating turmoil across the Middle East and shaking up global energy markets in its third week, Trump insisted that nations relying heavily on oil from the Gulf have a responsibility to protect the strait.
"I’m demanding that these countries come in and protect their own territory because it is their territory," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on the way from Florida to Washington. "It’s the place from which they get their energy."
Though he declined to identify the seven governments that his administration has contacted, Trump said this weekend that he expected many countries would send warships to allow shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a conduit for 20 per cent of the world's oil.
He said in a social media post that he hoped China, France, Japan, South Korea, Britain and others would participate.
BAGHDAD: Israel said the war against Iran was entering its "decisive phase" on Saturday (Mar 14), as explosions rocked cities across the Middle East, with strikes on the US embassy in Baghdad and a major Emirati energy facility.Black smoke rose above Washington's embassy in Iraq, AFP journalists saw, the seco
TOKYO: The United States can provide "reliable" energy supplies to Asia-Pacific, US Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said on Saturday (Mar 14), as the Middle East war cripples the region's oil and gas flow.
The oil will be released in the form of loans that companies will return with extra barrels as a premium, the US Energy Department said.
SHANGHAI: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Afghan counterpart Amir Khan Muttaqi in a phone call that disputes between Afghanistan and Pakistan should be resolved through dialogue and consultation, not
SEOUL/TOKYO: North Korea fired a projectile towards the sea on Saturday (Mar 14), South Korea and Japan said, with Tokyo saying it may have been a ballistic missile, while the US and South Korea conducted military drills.The projectile was fired toward the sea off North Korea's east coast, the South Korean mi
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The United States has deployed its USS Tripoli amphibious assault ship to the Middle East, reports say, as the war with Iran enters its third week.
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A second arms package, worth around US$14 billion, could be approved for Taiwan after US President Donald Trump visits Beijing later this month.
TEHRAN: Fresh strikes rocked Iran and several Gulf countries on Friday (Mar 13), as Israel and the Islamic Republic unleashed a new wave of attacks in a war that has ignited the Middle East and threatens to torpedo the wor
Thailand alleges that the area had been used as a base of operations by the Cambodian military as well as criminals running transnational scams.
"While starting a war is easy, it cannot be won with a few tweets. We will not relent until making you sorry for this grave miscalculation," says Iranian security chief Ali Larijani.