Donald Trump’s demand for US allies to send warships to defend against Iranian attacks in the strategic Strait of Hormuz risks a catastrophic miscalculation that pulls in more countries to his already spiralling war.
Any naval deployment to escort ships through the Strait risks them being targeted by drone and missile launchers at very close range along the Iranian shore, experts have said.
The US President has threatened his Nato allies with a warning that the alliance faced a “very bad future” unless they helped in the “small endeavour” of sending warships to help open the vital shipping lane, where Iran has been targeting shipping, sending global oil markets into chaos.
Trump has called on nations, including Britain, France, China, Japan, and South Korea, in particular, to help the US secure the Strait, warning that he would “remember” if they did not.
At an event at the White House on Monday, Trump said that some European leaders were not showing their appreciation for everything the US had done to protect them.
“We have some countries where we have 45,000 soldiers, great soldiers, protecting them from harm’s way, and we have done a great job,” he said. “I think we’re going to have some good help. And I think we’re going to be disappointed in some nations, too. I’ll let you know who those nations are,” he added.
However, experts have warned that deploying warships to the narrow strait risks “miscalculation at sea” with attacks on ships potentially pulling more actors into the US-Israel conflict against Iran, sparking a dangerous escalation in the war, which has already drawn in more than a dozen countries in the region.
“The main risk is miscalculation at sea; mines, drones, or missile strikes against shipping or escort vessels,” said Dr HA Hellyer, geopolitics scholar at the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies (Rusi) and the Center for American Progress.
“That kind of incident could gradually pull more actors into the crisis, even if most governments are trying to avoid exactly that outcome.”
Naval experts say a joint naval mission would be extremely dangerous. “The challenge is going to be dealing with the proximity of the drone launchers and the missile launchers that are going to be along the Iranian coast,” Bryan Clark, an expert in naval operations with the Hudson Institute, told The Hill.
“The issue is that you only have a couple of minutes once the launcher comes out before the missiles are going to get on top of you, because you’re only talking about three or four miles from the shoreline to the transit lane.”
Even with warships escorting commercial ships, it’s “not necessarily a guaranteed success,” according to retired Navy Rear Admiral and former Pentagon press secretary John Kirby.
“Drones can fly low and slow, they can fly fast and low, and they can do a lot of damage even to one ship with the Navy not being able to knock it out of the sky,” he said.
Rose Kelanic, the Middle East director at the Defense Priorities think-tank, also told The Hill that such a mission would be high risk. “If you are actually putting US military assets in the strait, then you are making them vulnerable to drones and missiles and all the things that [Iran] can throw at tankers,” she said.
“It’s not to say that the US couldn’t do it, but you would potentially see more US casualties, and I have a real sense from this administration that they are very casualty-averse.”
Iran has said it will keep blocking the Strait, through which about 20 per cent of world oil supplies pass, with tankers set ablaze in the Persian Gulf. Iran’s de facto blockade has already caused global disruption and a hike in energy prices.
Even so, Hellyer said “a large multinational naval deployment in the Strait of Hormuz looks unlikely.”
Sir Keir Starmer said Britain would “not be drawn into the wider war” but was “working with allies” to reopen the Strait. France, Australia, Greece, Italy, Germany and Japan have also said they have no plans to send warships.
Friedrich Merz, the German chancellor, added: “The United States did not consult us before this war, and so we believe this is not a matter for Nato or the German government.”
Their reluctance is “largely because they don’t want to be drawn directly into a confrontation with Iran”, said Hellyer.
A YouGov poll last week found that 53 per cent of Britons think World War Three is now likely within the next five to ten years, a 12 per cent increase since April 2025, with only 36 per cent confident in the British armed forces’ ability to defend the country.
A Nato official pointed out that “allies have already stepped up to provide additional security in the Mediterranean”. Britain has sent a Type 45 Destroyer, HMS Dragon, to defend Cyprus.
The UK has said it could also send autonomous mine-hunting drones, which it already has in the region, to help keep ships safe in the Strait.
Tankers sail in the Gulf, near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from northern Ras al-Khaimah (Photo: Stringer/Reuters)The EU’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, has called for a diplomatic effort to get oil and gas through, which could be similar to Ukraine’s Black Sea grain initiative. Another option would be repurposing a multinational naval force that already exists.
“Combined Maritime Forces is a long-established 47-nation framework based in Bahrain that provides maritime security in the Middle East,” said Professor Kevin Rowlands, a former Royal Navy captain. It includes the UK, US, France and Germany.
“If there was political willingness to do so, the whole organisation or – more likely – parts of it could be repurposed to offer protection to trade passing through the Strait,” he added. “It is easier to use a tried-and-tested set-up than to start from scratch.”
Last week, EU leaders said they were open to extending existing naval missions in the region.
“We are probably looking at something resembling a maritime peacekeeping force rather than a completely offensive capability, though it would, of course, need to be able to defend itself and the vessels it is escorting,” Rowlands said.
“It would also need logistic support in the region, including food, fuel and repair facilities. There are ports locally where that could happen, such as Dubai or Bahrain in the Gulf, or Duqm in Oman on the other side of the Strait.”
“Whether or not those countries would want to be seen providing that support is a political call, but we should remember that it is their economies which depend almost entirely on the flow of oil.”
Hellyer said a “prolonged maritime standoff” was likely to continue to shake up energy markets.
“We need to remember that Trump has a transactional approach,” Rowlands added. “Each country will have to weigh up its own national interests, as the US does, before deciding how to respond.”
He also said it is important to “remember how important alliances and partnerships are on the international stage, and how important it is to keep your friends on side.”
Others, however, point to the ongoing uncertainty.
“There is a reason that nobody really attacked Iran since 1979 and the reason is that it’s very hard to keep the Strait of Hormuz open,” Dan Marks, an energy analyst at Rusi, told The i Paper this week.
Hence then, the article about trump is losing control in the gulf a terrifying scenario could now play out was published today ( ) and is available on inews ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Trump is losing control in the Gulf. A terrifying scenario could now play out )
Also on site :
- Scammer posed as ‘well-known adult film star’ to defraud NFL and NBA players online from behind bars, feds say
- ‘Giggly Squad,’ ‘Call Her Daddy,’ ‘Good Hang With Amy Poehler’ & More Win at 2026 iHeartPodcast Awards: Full List
- Ukraine-Russia war latest: Zelensky arrives in UK as Starmer government vows ‘not to forget war in Europe’