A letter signed by 22 nations, including major European powers, committing them to help secure the Strait of Hormuz against Iranian attacks was published by the Foreign Ministry of the United Arab Emirates on Saturday.
According to the joint statement, these nations are ready “to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage” through the Strait of Hormuz, where the Iranian regime has threatened to attack international shipping in response to the US-Israeli aerial campaign against the Islamic Republic.
“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 statement continued.
It was signed by Australia, Bahrain, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Romania, Slovenia, South Korea, Sweden, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.
Joint Statement on the Strait of Hormuzhttps://t.co/fVPAYozdF4 pic.twitter.com/n25zPDCtLO
— MoFA وزارة الخارجية (@mofauae) March 21, 2026
The statement comes days after European power appeared to snub US President Donald Trump’s demand that they get involved in securing the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of the world’s oil and gas flows
That seeming refusal elicited a sharp rebuke from Trump, who vowed he would remember the failure of NATO allies to get involved in protecting an economic lifeline more critical to their own countries than to the US.
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The UK last Friday did permit American forces to use British bases to strike Iranian forces threatening the Strait of Hormuz, but Trump said that approval had come much later than it should have.
“I was a little surprised at the UK to be honest with you,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “They should have acted a lot faster.”
On Saturday, Trump issued a clear ultimatum that if the Islamic Republic did not cease its hostile activity in the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours, US forces would begin targeting Iran’s energy infrastructure.
🚨 “If Iran doesn’t FULLY OPEN, WITHOUT THREAT, the Strait of Hormuz, within 48 HOURS from this exact point in time, the United States of America will hit and obliterate their various POWER PLANTS, STARTING WITH THE BIGGEST ONE FIRST…” – President DONALD J. TRUMP pic.twitter.com/htLz1A0Mf7
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) March 22, 2026
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