NEW YORK, March 17. /TASS/. The US has so far been unsuccessful in creating a coalition to ensure the safety of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, Axios reported, citing sources.
According to the news outlet, the reactions of the US partners ranged from "skepticism to ‘hell no’." Sources noted that the US administration is working to convince the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Australia, Canada, the Persian Gulf countries, and Jordan to join the alliance. Washington has also approached Japan and South Korea with a similar proposal.
However, the leaders of Germany, Italy, and Japan have already ruled out sending their naval vessels to the region. According to one source, French President Emmanuel Macron "didn't give a final no, but at the moment it's a no."
Earlier, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas announced that the top diplomats of EU member states had refused to send military vessels to the Strait of Hormuz, including ships currently in the Red Sea as part of the European Aspides military mission.
The United States and Israel launched a military operation against Iran on February 28. Major Iranian cities, including Tehran, were struck. The White House justified the attack by citing alleged missile and nuclear threats from Iran. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced a retaliatory operation, targeting sites in Israel. US military bases in Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE were also hit. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and some other key Iranian leaders were killed in the joint US-Israeli attack.
On March 11, a Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters spokesman reported that Iran would not allow US-affiliated oil tankers to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the world's oil exports pass. On March 15, he warned that Tehran would use any method necessary, including controlling the navigation of vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, to force the enemy to surrender.