It has been 16 days since President Donald Trump launched Operation Epic Fury, which resulted in 13 troops being killed and around 200 injuries. He had asked Japan, China, South Korea, and others to send warships to the Strait of Hormuz, where oil tankers move one-fifth of the world's oil supply from the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman. However, these requests were rejected by the United States, with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer suggesting that Britain was working on a plan to use mine-hunting drones, but not ships. The conflict also expanded to include Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Kuwait.