Australia won't send troops to answer Trump's oil rant

Defence
Australia still has no plans to send troops to the Middle East to help secure oil supplies. -AAP Image

Australia has no plans to send troops to the Middle East after the US President declared nations should retrieve their own oil as the Straight of Hormuz remains closed.

Donald Trump launched a tirade against the UK on his social media platform Truth Social overnight, saying it and other nations should "build up some delayed courage" and go to the strait to get their own oil.

"You'll have to start learning how to fight for yourself, the USA won't be there to help you anymore, just like you weren't there for us," he wrote.

"Iran has been, essentially, decimated. The hard part is done. Go get your own oil!"

About 20 per cent of the world's oil supplies flow through the strait with its closure causing fuel prices to surge globally.

Health Minister Mark Butler said the government does not respond to every comment from Mr Trump, but said the ongoing fuel crisis has prompted continued calls for a de-escalation in the conflict.

He told ABC TV there were no plans to send Australian troops to the Middle East, admitting "no one really knows" how long the war will rage on.

"We've seen some encouraging remarks over the last several hours from the Iranian president as well as the Americans that they do want to see this wound down sooner rather than later," he said.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers said he was concerned with how the conflict was impacting Australia domestically.

"From an economic point of view, the end of this war can't come soon enough," he told reporters at a press conference in Canberra.

Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Ted O'Brien said the coalition was open to sending Australian assets and personnel to help reopen the waterway.

"The key question is, is it in our national interest? And in my view, yes it is," he told ABC.

"The second question is, what can we contribute in a material sense. That part of the equation, we are yet to understand.

"We should be open to making a contribution to assets or personnel or both. Well again let's wait to see what is being asked of us."

Opposition Leader Angus Taylor said the strait needed to be opened to lower fuel prices.

He added that the government had not been transparent about what requests the United States had submitted and questioned whether it was feasible to send assets to the Middle East.

"One thing I know is the government has under invested in our defence force in this country and it's meant for years there is not the money that there needs to be in sustaining our military capability," Mr Taylor said.

Mr Trump will address America to provide an "important update on Iran" at 1pm on Thursday (AEDT).