TRUMP'S PLEA FOR OUR HELP

U-turn after help from PM rejected

- BY SIMON MURPHY, MIKEY SMITH and ALEXANDER BROWN

DONALD Trump U-turned yesterday by begging Britain to send warships to help secure a key Middle East oil route.

The US president boasted only a week ago how our aircraft carriers were not needed - declaring the Iran war "already won".

But as the conflict rages on, he has now urged the UK and other nations to dispatch ships to the Strait of Hormuz to protect oil tankers.

Tehran is blockading the narrow sea passage out of the Persian Gulf, pushing up energy prices across the globe.

It comes as it emerged Britain's forces in the Middle East shot down multiple drones overnight into Saturday. The counterattacks were part of the UK's operations to defend its bases in Qatar, Cyprus, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

Trump said: "Many countries, especially those affected by Iran's attempted closure of the Hormuz Strait, will be sending warships, in conjunction with the United States of America, to keep the strait open and safe. We have already destroyed 100 per cent of Iran's military capability, but it's easy for them to send a drone or two, drop a mine, or deliver a closerange missile somewhere along this waterway, no matter how badly defeated they are."

He added: "Hopefully China, France, Japan, South Korea, the UK, and others affected by this artificial constraint will send ships to the area so the Hormuz Strait will no longer be a threat by a nation that has been totally decapitated.