Overview
- President Trump said he is asking roughly seven countries to join a tanker‑escort mission in the Strait of Hormuz and cautioned that refusal would be "very bad for the future of NATO."
- The U.K. signaled it will not dispatch warships now and is weighing lower‑risk contributions such as autonomous minehunting, drawing an Iranian warning that British involvement would be treated as complicity.
- Iran insists the strait is open to non‑U.S. shipping but restricted for American and allied vessels, while European governments including France, Germany, Italy and Greece, as well as Australia, have declined direct naval participation.
- Japan and South Korea remained noncommittal, China offered no pledge to join, and EU foreign policy leaders discussed European options that would not run through NATO.
- Regional strikes intensified as a drone ignited a fuel tank at Dubai International Airport, a missile killed one person in Abu Dhabi and a drone set off a fire in Fujairah, while the IEA detailed a record 400 million‑barrel reserve release and oil hovered near $105.