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The UK must send ships to help the US secure a key oil shipping route out of the Middle East, Donald Trump has said.

The US president appealed to the UK and other nations including France, China and Japan to send warships to the Strait of Hormuz to protect oil tankers from Iranian attacks.

Tehran is blockading the narrow sea passage out of the Persian Gulf, stemming the flow of oil out of the Middle East and pushing up energy prices across the globe.

In a post on his Truth Social website, Mr Trump said: “Many countries, especially those who are affected by Iran’s attempted closure of the Hormuz Strait, will be sending war ships, in conjunction with the United States of America, to keep the strait open and safe.

“We have already destroyed 100% of Iran’s military capability, but it’s easy for them to send a drone or two, drop a mine, or deliver a close-range missile somewhere along, or in, this waterway, no matter how badly defeated they are.”

In what appeared to be an appeal to the UK and other nations, the US leader added: “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.

“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!”