![\"\"](\"https:\/\/elderlyladyhumour.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Every-country-that-has-rejected-Donald-Trumps-call-to-join-the-war-against-Iran-\u2013-and-one-surprising-country-that-agreed-1.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nThe United Kingdom, traditionally one of the US\u2019s closest allies, has ruled out participating in any further military action tied to the operation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBritain won\u2019t be drawn into the wider war,\u201d Prime Minister Keir Starmer emphasized, though he did signal a willingness to help work toward a \u201cviable plan.\u201d He also shut down any speculation about NATO stepping in, according to VT, saying: \u201cLet me be clear: that won\u2019t be, and it\u2019s never been envisioned to be, a NATO mission.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Multiple countries in Europe refuse to join war against Iran
Italy\u2019s Foreign Minister, Antonio Tajani, also said military involvement is not on the table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Germany has also made clear it will not participate in the conflict: \u201cThere was never a joint decision on whether to intervene. That is why the question of how Germany might contribute militarily does not arise. We will not do so,\u201d Chancellor Friedrich Merz said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the same time, he added that while the Iranian regime \u201cmust end,\u201d \u201cbombing it into submission is, in all likelihood, not the right approach.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Germany\u2019s defence minister, Boris Pistorius, also questioned the US strategy, and Trump himself, saying: \u201cThis is not our war, we have not started it. What does Donald Trump expect from a handful of European frigates in the strait of Hormuz that the mighty US navy cannot manage alone? This is the question I find myself asking.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Elsewhere in Europe, countries including the Netherlands, Lithuania, and Estonia have expressed uncertainty, raising questions about the purpose and ultimate goal of operations in the Strait of Hormuz. A Greek government spokesperson confirmed the country will not take part in any military operations related to the mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Australia, South Korea, Japan
Outside Europe, the pattern continues. Australia, South Korea, and Japan have each said they do not plan to participate at this time. Australia\u2019s transport minister, Catherine King, put it plainly: \u201cWe won\u2019t be sending a ship to the strait of Hormuz, We know how incredibly important that is but that\u2019s not something we\u2019ve been asked or we\u2019re contributing to.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
South Korea has kept things more open-ended, saying it will \u201ccontinue to communicate\u201d with the US.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
China\u2019s role remains unclear. While no commitment has been made, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said he expects China to act as a \u201cconstructive partner\u201d in the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump himself has also pointed to China\u2019s role in the situation, saying: \u201cI think China should help, too, because China gets 90% of its oil from the straits.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ukraine has offered support
Amid the hesitation, there has been one notable, and somewhat unexpected, response. Ukraine, despite being in the middle of its own ongoing war with Russia, has indicated a willingness to assist. President Zelenskyy has reportedly offered support in countering drone threats from Iran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe reacted immediately,\u201d he said. \u201cWhenever it is possible for us to help defending civilians or US nationals, without second thought we sent our teams.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The overall hesitation appears to have frustrated Trump, who suggested allies\u2019 responses are being closely noted: \u201cWhether we get support or not, but I can say this, and I said to them: We will remember.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Whether more countries step in remains uncertain.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Donald Trump has struggled to gain support for \u201cOperation Epic Fury,\u201d his latest move against Iran. After calling…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":605,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-604","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-usa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/elderlyladyhumour.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/604","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/elderlyladyhumour.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/elderlyladyhumour.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elderlyladyhumour.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elderlyladyhumour.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=604"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/elderlyladyhumour.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/604\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":607,"href":"https:\/\/elderlyladyhumour.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/604\/revisions\/607"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elderlyladyhumour.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/605"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/elderlyladyhumour.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=604"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elderlyladyhumour.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=604"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elderlyladyhumour.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=604"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}