The Trump administration is calling on allied nations to join a new international coalition to help reopen and control the Strait of Hormuz, officials said.
The Maritime Freedom Construct (MFC) is meant to be a diplomatic and military push to work with allied countries and shipping companies to help reopen the vital waterway, and allow tanker ships to pass through without being molested by Iran.
The pitch for the MFC was sent out in an internal State Department cable to US embassies on Tuesday, urging diplomats to push for countries to sign on, the Wall Street Journal first reported.
“The MFC will take steps to ensure safe passage, including providing real-time information, safety guidance, and coordination to ensure vessels can transit these waters securely,” a State Department official told The Post.
The proposal comes as the Strait of Hormuz, which oversaw the transport of 20% of the world’s oil, remains all but closed due to the war in Iran, with Tehran aiming to create a toll system.
Iran has attacked or threatened any ship that attempts to pass through the strait without its permission.
At the other end of the strait, the US Navy is enforcing a blockade that intercepts Iranian-linked ships.
Despite Trump’s previous insistence that the US does not need help reopening or managing the strait, the State Department memo suggests the administration is looking for foreign countries to manage the future of the waterway.
“Your participation will strengthen our collective ability to restore freedom of navigation and protect the global economy,” the cable read.
“Collective action is essential to demonstrate unified resolve and impose meaningful costs on Iranian obstruction of transit through the Strait.”
While the MFC is not meant to be a military coalition, the memo asks if foreign partners would like to serve as a “diplomatic and/or military partner.”
The State Department is setting up a team that “will serve as the diplomatic operations hub, uniting partners and the commercial shipping industry,” the official told the Post.
“It will provide a platform to coordinate diplomatic actions and socialize and align economic measures designed to impose costs on Iran for disrupting maritime security,” they added.
America’s direct involvement as the operations hub of the MFC appears to be a new move for Trump, who previously said the problems at the Strait of Hormuz were Europe’s to solve.
It remains unclear who the US has reached out to about joining the MFC, but the State Department memo claimed it would run complementary to the maritime task forces being set up by the UK and France.
London and Paris have led multiple European meetings to discuss the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, but only once the war with Iran ends and clears the danger of ships trying to pass the waterway.
The pitch for the MFC comes as Trump touted the US blockade on Iranian ports, telling reporters on Wednesday that “the blockade is genius, OK, the blockade has been 100% foolproof.”
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