"Nobody is ready to put their people in harm's way in the Strait of Hormuz. The US-Israeli war on Iran is in its third week with at least 2,000 people dead and no end in sight. The Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed off, with US allies rebuffing Trump's request for help to reopen the critical waterway, raising energy prices and fears of inflation. Trump said Iran’s strikes against its neighbours including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Kuwait were a surprise. "They [Iran] weren’t supposed to go after all these other countries in the Middle East," he said on Monday.

Source: The Telegraph March 17, 2026 09:39 UTC