President Donald Trump issued a desperate plea on Saturday, asking several world leaders to “send ships” to a critical global shipping lane off the coast of Iran. The plea, posted on social media, was a direct appeal for international help as the United States continues its war effort against the Middle Eastern nation. By Sunday afternoon, that panicked call had been largely ignored by every country Trump named.
Trump’s post came in the middle of a rapidly escalating crisis. The U.S.-Israeli joint military siege on Iran, launched late last month, has triggered a fierce response from Tehran. Iran has now vowed to attack any sea vessel linked to the United States or its allies that tries to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
The Strait of Hormuz is one of the most important shipping routes in the world. Roughly 20% of the world’s oil trade passes through it every single day. With Iran now effectively blocking that route, global oil prices have skyrocketed, reportedly sparking panic inside the Trump administration.
Trump turned to social media on Saturday in what read less like a policy statement and more like a cry for help. “Hopefully China, France, Japan, South Korea, the UK, and others, that are affected by this artificial constraint, will send Ships to the area so that the Hormuz Strait will no longer be a threat by a Nation that has been totally decapitated,” he wrote on Truth Social.
More than 24 hours passed. No major country stepped forward with a firm commitment. The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday that Trump’s plea was “met with little in the way of immediate commitments from the nations he named.”
The closest thing to a response came from South Korea. Its Foreign Ministry said it “takes note” of Trump’s request and would “closely coordinate and carefully review” the ongoing conflict. That carefully worded, non-committal statement was the strongest signal of support Trump received from any of the countries he specifically named.
Iran wasted no time in turning the moment into a public embarrassment for Trump. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi mocked the White House openly, saying that the United States was now “begging others” to make the Strait safe. Araghchi also called on neighboring countries to “expel foreign aggressors,” making clear that Tehran views Trump’s appeal as a sign of weakness, not strength.
The wider damage to the global economy is already severe. The U.S.-Israeli siege on Iran has rattled international stability and sent what experts are calling “tremors” through the world economy. Energy markets have gone into a state of crisis, and supply chains are under intense pressure.
In response, the International Energy Agency announced on Sunday the largest release of emergency oil stockpiles in its 50-year history. More than 30 nations agreed to release a combined 400 million barrels of oil from strategic reserves. The United States alone is contributing 172 million barrels, which represents 43% of the total IEA release.
But energy analysts are warning that even this historic move will not be enough. Brent crude oil prices surged more than 17% after the IEA announcement, closing above $100 per barrel for two straight sessions. The Strait of Hormuz remains effectively shut, and roughly 9 million barrels per day of global supply remains bottlenecked in the region.
“Until transit is reactivated, those kinds of policy announcements are going to have limited impact,” said Tom Liles, senior vice president of upstream research at Rystad Energy.
Analysts at Bernstein put it even more bluntly in a note to clients. “It buys time, but it does not solve the crisis.” Rystad Energy is now forecasting that a two-month war could push Brent oil prices to $110 per barrel by April. A four-month conflict could drive prices as high as $135 per barrel by June.
The complete silence from most of the world’s major powers in response to Trump’s appeal tells its own story. A president who launched a major military campaign now finds himself turning to social media, asking allies and even rivals like China for help. The world, for now, is not answering.
