“We strongly encourage the other nations to get involved with us and get involved quickly and with great enthusiasm,” Trump told reporters at a White House event.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said London was working with allies to craft a “viable” plan to reopen the strait, but ruled out a Nato mission, while Berlin also said it “has been clear at all times that this war is not a matter for Nato”.
Japan, Australia, Poland, Spain, Greece and Sweden also all distanced themselves from any military involvement in the Strait of Hormuz.
EU foreign ministers have “no appetite” for extending their Red Sea naval mission to help reopen Hormuz, the bloc’s top diplomat said.
Trump told the Financial Times it would be “very bad for the future of Nato” if they refused to help. He said he has asked to delay a summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping by a “month or so”.
Lebanon ground assault
On another key front in the wider war, Israel announced “limited ground operations” against Iran-backed Hezbollah in southern Lebanon “aimed at enhancing the forward defence area”.
Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war on March 2 when Hezbollah attacked Israel in response to the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The leaders of five Western countries said in a joint statement that a large-scale Israeli ground operation in Lebanon “must be averted”.
Israel’s President Isaac Herzog told AFP that Europe should support “any effort to eradicate Hezbollah now”.
Iranian defiance
Explosions hit the Iranian capital on Monday as air defence systems were activated, an AFP journalist said, and Israel said it had also targeted the cities of Shiraz and Tabriz.
But Tehran’s foreign minister struck a defiant tone.
“By now they have ... understood what kind of nation they are dealing with, one that does not hesitate to defend itself and is ready to continue the war wherever it may lead, and take it as far as necessary,” Abbas Araghchi told reporters in Tehran.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards threatened to target US companies in the region, warning employees to evacuate.
A drone sparked a fuel tank fire near Dubai airport, disrupting travel, while a missile killed a civilian in a car in Abu Dhabi, and another drone sparked a blaze in an area housing oil infrastructure in the eastern emirate of Fujairah.
The UAE’s state-owned energy giant ADNOC halted the loading of oil into storage tanks at Fujairah, while a drone strike caused a fire at the major Shah oil field.
A Pakistani oil tanker was able to transit the Strait of Hormuz on Monday with its location transmitter activated - suggesting it may have negotiated safe passage.
Millions displaced
The war has engulfed much of the region, with Iran striking at least 10 countries that host US forces, and its Revolutionary Guards saying it had fired around 700 missiles and 3600 drones.
Early on Tuesday, the Israeli military said missiles launched from Iran were heading towards its territory and called on people in affected areas to take shelter.
Despite the violence and more than two weeks of internet blackout, some Iranians have sought to restore a sense of normalcy, with cafes and restaurants reopening and the popular Tajrish bazaar in Tehran busy over the weekend ahead of the coming Persian new year.
There is little sign of a popular uprising within Iran, where security forces killed thousands during protests in January.
More than 1200 Iranians have been killed by US and Israeli strikes, according to the last toll from Iran’s health ministry on March 8, which could not be independently verified.
The UN refugee agency says up to 3.2 million people have been displaced in Iran.
– Agence France-Presse
