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The Strait of Hormuz may soon be open and fully functional again, thanks to President Donald Trump’s work to pressure allied countries to assist in securing the key shipping corridor amid Operation Epic Fury.
A new reported joint statement from American allies like Japan and five other countries has condemned Iranian actions against civilians and energy infrastructure in the Gulf region, and looked toward potentially contributing to assisting in securing the Strait, if needed.
“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 joint statement read.
The joint statement reportedly represents the leaders of France, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, the United Kingdom, and Japan.
“We express our readiness to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait,” the statement added. “We welcome the commitment of nations who are engaging in preparatory planning.”
According to Axios, Germany, Italy, Japan, and France had, to this point, dismissed the idea of deploying any of their naval vessels to the Strait of Hormuz.
This joint statement comes just one day after President Trump suggested that the fate of the embattled yet important Strait of Hormuz be left up to allies who have strongly hesitated to get involved in the Middle Eastern conflict.
He wrote on Wednesday, “I wonder what would happen if we ‘finished off’ what’s left of the Iranian Terror State, and let the Countries that use it, we don’t, be responsible for the so called ‘Strait?’ That would get some of our non-responsive ‘Allies’ in gear, and fast!!!”
The United States has thus far waged a very violent and very intense war against the Iranian regime, resulting in the damage or destruction of more than 120 Iranian naval vessels and a serious degradation of the Iranian industrial defense base, according to the Pentagon’s most recent briefing Thursday morning.
So far, no other nations – other than the United States’ joint partner, Israel – have truly been involved in this operation.