Donald Trump calls on Britain to send warships to Iran as US bombing raid continues

However, he specifically called out the UK, China, France, Japan and South Korea, writing that he hopes that they "will send ships" to the Strait as they are "affected by this artificial constraint".

This comes after six ships were attacked in the Gulf in under 48 hours this week.

Iran's new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is determined to keep blocking the critical shipping lane.

President 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.

"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.

The US President continued, describing that America had been "bombing the hell out of the shoreline" and consistently "shooting Iranian Boats and Ships out of the water".

He concluded his post, published at 2pm GMT, writing: "One way or the other, we will soon get the Hormuz Strait OPEN, SAFE, and FREE!"

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said in response to President Trump's comments: “As we’ve said previously, we are currently discussing with our allies and partners a range of options to ensure the security of shipping in the region.”

This call to the UK to send ships to the Middle East comes as HMS Dragon, heading to Cyprus, loitered in the Channel for three days after finally leaving Portsmouth harbour.

The Type 45 destroyer only left UK waters on Friday, but only covered 220 miles from Portsmouth to Land's End in three days, whilst preparations continued.

In terms of which "ships" the UK would send to the Strait of Hormuz, we could only send HMS Prince of Wales because it is the only aircraft carrier that is in a state of high readiness.

Crew on HMS Prince of Wales were told a week ago they must be ready to leave Portsmouth harbour in five days.

The UK's other aircraft carrier, HMS Queen Elizabeth, is under prolonged repairs and has been in dry dock in Scotland since September last year.

The Strait of Hormuz is a critical cargo shipping lane, between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.

It is the only sea passage from the Persian Gulf to the open ocean.

On February 28, Iran's Revolutionary Guard issued statements that ships passing through the strategic waterway were "not allowed".

This meant many cargo ships staying in port or turning back, to avoid getting caught in the conflict.

On March 2, Iran officially confirmed the Strait closed and any ship passing through would be attacked.

UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) have received 20 reports of vessels located in and around the Strait have been attacked or experienced suspicious activity.

Sixteen ships were attacked, with four reporting suspicious activity in the area.

Consequently, the global price of oil has fluctuated this week due to strains on supply, with the cost of brent crude oil peaking at almost $120 a barrel last weekend.