Secretary of State Marco Rubio said multiple countries have expressed willingness, both publicly and privately, to support “Project Freedom,” a US-led effort to secure maritime navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, but declined to identify which nations.
“Multiple countries have said we got to do something about it and fix it,” Rubio told reporters at the White House when pressed on how many countries have offered assistance and what capabilities they could provide.
“A lot of countries are left to do something about it,” he said, adding that not all have navies and some that do “are saying, ‘Oh, we’ll be involved, but we’ll be involved after it’s over.’”
Rubio suggested some nations may contribute in less visible ways but emphasized the sensitivity of disclosing details.
“But there are other ways they can help, unique ways that they can help. And I don’t want to get into who these countries are, for obvious reasons,” he said.
Rubio emphasized that the US will shoulder the bulk of the operation.
“I don’t want to mislead you, the primary responsibility for this Project Freedom is on the United States, because we’re the only country that can project power in that part of the world the way we’re doing now,” he said.
“This is a favor to the world because it’s their ships that are stranded.”