United States President Donald Trump has said “numerous countries” have told him “they’re on their way” following his appeal for an international naval coalition to secure the Strait of Hormuz amid the US-Israel war on Iran. When subsequently asked which countries had pledged to join, Trump responded “I’d rather not say yet”, adding that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio would be making an official announcement. ” In his appeal over the weekend, Trump identified China, France, Japan, South Korea, and the United Kingdom as countries that should join the coalition. In contrast, several countries have already doused the prospect, with France, Australia and Japan saying they had no intentions of sending military ships. On Monday, several more European leaders joined the chorus, with German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius saying there would be “no military participation”, but that Berlin was open to supporting diplomatic efforts. The UK’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer said it was discussing the possibility of offering its mine-hunting drones in the region, but maintained the UK would “not be drawn into the wider war”.