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Trump raises idea of shifting responsibility for Hormuz Strait to countries using it

Published: 19 Mar. 2026, 09:20

U.S. President Donald Trump waves after arriving on Air Force One, on March 18 at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. [AP/YONHAP]

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday floated the idea of shifting responsibility for securing the crucial Strait of Hormuz to countries that use the waterway, saying it would put some "non-responsive" allies "in gear."

Trump made the remarks in a social media post, after he expressed discomfort over U.S. allies' reluctance to accede to his call for naval assistance in safeguarding the strait, which has effectively been closed by the ongoing war between the United States, Israel and Iran.

"I wonder what would happen if we 'finished off' what's left of the Iranian Terror State, and let the Countries that use it, we don't, be responsible for the so called 'Strait?,'" Trump wrote on Truth Social. "That would get some of our non-responsive 'Allies' in gear, and fast!!!"

On Tuesday, Trump said that the United States no longer needs assistance from North Atlantic Treaty Organization members, Korea, Japan or Australia to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, claiming that the U.S. military has already achieved "military success" in its campaign of strikes on Iran that kicked off on Feb. 28, which killed Iran’s former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the process.

But other countries not involved in the conflict have been affected by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, where about one-fifth of the world’s oil supply passes, since Iran blocked the waterway on March 2 in response to the U.S. attack. Korea is one of the countries that relies on oil imports passing through the strait.

Korea could expand the operational range of the Cheonghae Unit and move naval vessels to the strait if necessary, as the National Assembly approved an extension of the Cheonghae Unit deployment last November. The resolution allows operations in other waters when the military must protect Korean citizens during emergencies.

The Cheonghae Unit currently operates destroyer Dae Jo-yeong (DDH-977), a 4,400-ton vessel that uses the port of Salalah in southern Oman as its base.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN, YONHAP [[email protected]]