We reported earlier that President Trump has again expressed his extreme frustration at lack of direct NATO participation in a plan to open up the Strait of Hormuz. He declared the US has “militarily WON” – and lambasted lack of allied interest in a “simple military maneuver” to open the Strait of Hormuz, calling NATO a “Paper Tiger” without the US.
And so clearly Trump himself is unconvinced after on Thursday seven allied nations signed a statement expressing a readiness to contribute to efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The statement included no pledge to commit warships or any kind of military or even logistical help, and so is somewhat of a facade and pure PR spectacle.
These countries are: UK, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Japan, and Canada. But again there’s no military role here: “We express our readiness to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the strait,” the close US allies announced.
The joint statement did of course condemn Iran, and seemed generally supportive of Trump’s actions, even as individual leaders like Germany’s Merz have expressed they would have been against starting a war with Iran in the first place.
It further denounces ongoing Iranian attacks commercial vessels and energy infrastructure, citing “the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iranian forces,” and calls on Tehran to “cease immediately its threats, laying of mines, drone and missile attacks and other attempts to block the strait.”
One reporter writing for Axios views the statement as “largely a gesture to placate Trump, who has railed against allies for declining to help secure the strait and warned that a failure to do so could undermine the future of NATO.”
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has made clear that no EU state is at moment considering “a military mission to forcibly break the Iranian blockade,” adding the EU favors “diplomacy and de-escalation.”
Other EU countries like Spain, Greece, and Switzerland have also made it clear they won’t join the war. Washington has meanwhile put a lot of pressure on the UK for some tangible assistance, but this too has been a disappointment for the White House who appears to be ‘going it alone’.
As for a total list of countries individually called on by Washington, these have issued formal refusals:
Here are some of the countries that have rejected Trump’s request to help re-open the Strait of Hormuz:
🇦🇺 Australia
🇫🇮 Finland
🇫🇷 France
🇩🇪 Germany
🇬🇷 Greece
🇮🇹 Italy
🇯🇵 Japan
🇳🇱 Netherlands
🇪🇸 Spain
🇬🇧 United Kingdom— Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) March 16, 2026
But the US and Israel seem to be getting pulled deeper into the war in the Persian Gulf and near Kharg Island in particular, with thousands of US Marines en route to the region. What they will ultimately do when they get there remains anyone’s guess – though reports say Trump is mulling a takeover of Kharg.
As a reminder, Trump has claimed an operation would include “so little risk”…
Such a plan might prove bloody and difficult, which is perhaps why so many US allies are content to stay on the sidelines, fearing they too could soon join another Middle East quagmire.