U.S. President Donald Trump on the 16th, local time, mentioned Korea, Japan and China and said he wants them to help defend the Strait of Hormuz.
At a news conference before a luncheon at the Trump-Kennedy Center that day, President Trump said, "We get not even 1% of our oil from the Strait of Hormuz," adding, "But other countries get much more."
He went on, "Japan brings in 95%, China 90%, and many European countries account for a significant share," and said, "Korea is about 35%." He added, "So we want them to come and help defend the strait," noting, "Several countries said they are coming."
He said, "Some are very enthusiastic, but the countries we have supported and protected for a long time were not that enthusiastic," adding, "The degree of enthusiasm matters to me." He continued, "We've protected you for 40 years," and said, "(Then) are you saying now you don't want to get entangled in something trivial with only a few shootouts, and with little ammunition left?"
Earlier, on the 14th, President Trump publicly asked Korea, Japan, China, the United Kingdom and France via Truth Social to dispatch warships to keep the Strait of Hormuz safe. He also said U.S. military operations have continued "with full force" over the past few days, adding, "Today we struck three missile and drone manufacturing facilities." He further said that since the outbreak of the Iran war, the United States has struck more than 7,000 targets in Iran, "most of them commercial and military facilities."