A fire aboard a South Korea-operated cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz has quickly become more than a maritime incident, prompting Seoul to weigh crew safety, energy security and alliance pressure after U.S. President Donald Trump blamed the incident on Iran and called on Seoul to “join the mission” in the Middle East.

Following an overnight scramble in Seoul over reports of an explosion aboard the ship anchored inside the strait, Seoul has not concluded as of Tuesday afternoon whether the HMM Namu fire was caused by an external strike, technical failure or another factor.

However, Trump