DONALD Trump yesterday said he hoped the UK would join a Strait of Hormuz taskforce to re-open the vital waterway.
He announced an international effort to release Iran’s stranglehold on the Strait, dubbed the Valley of Death after eight seamen were killed in attacks on 20 ships.
The US President said a number of countries would be sending warships to protect oil tankers, which would hopefully include the UK.
It will be seen by some as a U-turn after Mr Trump slammed Sir Keir Starmer’s dithering response to the conflict last week.
It comes after The Sun revealed yesterday our warship HMS Dragon spent three days bobbing about in the Channel after setting off from Portsmouth for Cyprus on Tuesday.
The President has said of Sir Keir: “This is not Winston Churchill that we’re dealing with.”
And following suggestions the UK may send one of its two aircraft carriers to the conflict zone, he declared: “We don’t need them. But we will remember.
“We don’t need people that join wars after we’ve already won!”
Mr Trump claimed Iran’s military capability was totally destroyed but admitted ships were still at risk from drones and mines.
Yet he insisted the economically critical waterway, through which a fifth of the world’s oil passes, will soon be safe thanks to international efforts.
He said on his Truth Social platform: “Many countries will be sending warships to keep the Strait open and safe. Hopefully China, France, Japan, South Korea, the UK, and others that are affected will send ships to the area.
“In the meantime, the United States will be bombing the hell out of the shoreline, and continually shooting Iranian boats and ships out of the water.
“One way or the other, we will soon get the Hormuz Strait OPEN, SAFE, and FREE!”
The Ministry of Defence said in response: “As we’ve said previously, we are currently discussing with our allies and partners a range of options to ensure the security of shipping in the region.”
However, France’s foreign ministry said it would not be sending warships to the Strait.
The development came after US planes blitzed Iran’s strategically important Kharg Island on the most intense day of bombing since the start of the conflict.
US Central Command said 90 military targets had been hit on the isle, which handles more than 90 per cent of Iran’s oil exports.
Naval mine storage facilities, missile storage bunkers and other military sites were hit but oil facilities were not targeted.
Iran later said they were all operating normally, with oil exports “fully under way”.
In response to America’s attack, Tehran warned UAE residents to evacuate ports in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
Its military HQ said plans were in place to “target the missile launch sites of the enemy located in several cities of the UAE”.
It added that these targets would include “shipping ports, docks, and the hiding places of American military personnel”.
Meanwhile, a blaze erupted at the US embassy in Baghdad after a missile took out an air defence unit.
A column of smoke could be seen rising over the sprawling complex, which is one of the largest US diplomatic facilities in the world.
No group has yet claimed responsibility but Iraqi-based pro-Iranian militias, known as the Islamic Resistance, have staged dozens of attacks on US assets in Iraq since the conflict began.
The group has also offered a $100,000 reward to anyone who provides information leading to the capture or targeting of US soldiers.
The embassy issued a new security alert saying all US citizens should leave Iraq immediately.
Elsewhere, Israel’s defence minister Israel Katz told military top brass in a televised statement: “The global and regional struggle against Iran is escalating and entering the decisive phase that will continue as long as necessary.”
Gulf countries continued to come under attack from Iran.
A blaze broke out at UAE port Fujairah after Tehran launched nine ballistic missiles and 33 drones.
Jordan said it had intercepted 79 of 85 Iranian drones over the past week.
Bahrain said it had thwarted 124 missiles and 203 drones since the conflict began and last night its interior ministry advised citizens to head to the nearest safe place.
Kuwait’s government said a drone attack had targeted its international airport, damaging the radar system.
The daily onslaught on Gulf states has led to the price of a barrel of oil rocketing by nearly 40 per cent.
It is now the worst oil crisis the world has known, according to the International Energy Agency.
US pump prices are up 23 per cent since the start of the conflict, while in the UK diesel is up by more than 11 per cent. But the crisis could yet worsen, experts say.
Roxane Farmanfarmaian, a Middle East professor and Gulf security expert at Cambridge University, predicted that Iran may widen its attacks on the oil industry, with the pipeline running across Saudi Arabia to the Red Sea a potential target.
Zeidon Alkinani, Middle East politics lecturer at Georgetown University in Qatar, said: “Both sides remain stubborn, and the global economic implications may be even more severe than the situation on the ground suggests, with energy supplies and fuel prices across the West and the world heavily affected by attacks on critical infrastructure.”
Sirens sounded across Israel throughout yesterday, with some missiles making it past air defences.
In the southerly coastal resort of Eilat, a boy of 12 was seriously hurt in a ballistic attack.
Israel’s war against Hezbollah in Lebanon continued to rage.
The UN Refugee Agency said up to 3.2million people have fled their homes in Iran, while more than 800,000 have done so in Lebanon.
