Nations Make No Promises After Trump Asks for Help

President Trump's appeal for foreign navies to help the US make the Strait of Hormuz safe for shipping—especially for oil tankers—is being met with guarded, mostly noncommittal reactions from the countries he singled out. A day after Trump's call to counter Iran's chokehold on the waterway, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said there's "a very good chance" that gas prices in the US will fall below $3 per gallon by summer, NBC News reports. Appearing on NBC's Meet the Press, Wright said the US will have eliminated the threat that Iran poses to global energy supplies. On the other hand, per the New York Times, Wright said, "There's no guarantees in wars at all." The responses from other nations include:

• Britain: Energy Minister Ed Miliband said Sunday that the government is in talks with allies and considering all options to restore full shipping, per the New York Times. "It is very important that we get the Strait of Hormuz reopened," he told the BBC. The "best and simplest way" to do that, he said, is de-escalate the Iran war.
• South Korea: The Foreign Ministry said it "takes note" of Trump's request, and the office of President Lee Jae Myung released a statement making no commitments. It said South Korea will "communicate closely with the United States."
• Japan: Officials emphasized the legal and political constraints any action would face, describing the threshold for deployment under the country's pacifist constitution as "extremely high," per the Wall Street Journal. Trump could soon ask Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in person; he's to visit Washington on Thursday.

• China: A spokesperson for the embassy in Washington said only that "all parties have the responsibility to ensure stable and unimpeded energy supply," per the AP, and that China will strengthen communication with the parties involved to work toward de-escalation.
• Germany: Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul expressed doubts Sunday about the effectiveness of broadening the military operation in the Strait of Hormuz, per the Guardian.
• France: Crickets. President Emmanuel Macron has said before that his government would be willing to use its navy to escort ships only if the conflict stabilized. Defense Minister Catherine Vautrin said Thursday that there will be no French warships in the Strait of Hormuz while the conflict is escalating.