Trump Urges Global Coalition to Secure Strait of Hormuz as Florida Gas Prices Spike

President Donald Trump has asked roughly seven countries to send warships to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, through which one-fifth of the world's traded oil flows. As of Monday, none had committed to join the effort three weeks into the U.S.-Israel war with Iran.

Trump named China, Japan, South Korea, Britain and France as nations he has approached to form a coalition to escort oil tankers through the strait, which connects the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman. China remained noncommittal. Britain signaled it was unlikely to dispatch a warship. Italy's foreign minister said he did not believe existing EU naval missions could be expanded to include the strait. France said it was a possibility "when circumstances permit." Australia's transport minister said flatly, "We won't be sending a ship."

For Treasure Coast families, the consequences are already arriving at the pump. Soaring crude prices tied to the Iran conflict are pushing gasoline costs higher across Martin, St. Lucie and Indian River counties, compounding inflation pressures that the region's working households have navigated for the past two years. Florida, with no domestic crude production, is acutely exposed to Gulf-region supply disruptions.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent downplayed the war's economic impact Monday, accusing media of "trying to make it into some crisis that it's not," and insisted prices would fall once the conflict ends. "I don't know how many weeks it will be, but on the other side of this, the world will be safer, and we will be better supplied," Bessent said. Trump also suggested he may delay a planned late-March summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping to pressure Beijing on the strait — a notion Bessent quickly walked back, saying any postponement "would be rescheduled because of logistics."

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt defended Trump's demand for allied participation Monday. "This is something not just the United States but the entire Western world has agreed with for many, many years," Leavitt told reporters.

Bessent was in Paris meeting with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in trade talks intended to prepare the ground for the Beijing summit. Whether Trump proceeds with that trip — and whether any nation joins a Hormuz coalition — will determine how quickly oil markets stabilize heading into the midterm election season.

This article was generated with AI assistance using publicly available information. It was reviewed and approved by a human editor before publication. TC Sentinel uses AI writing tools in accordance with FTC guidelines.