United States President Donald Trump has said the US “doesn’t need any help” in reopening the Strait of Hormuz, even as he appealed to an international coalition to support shipping during the war against Iran.
Speaking from the Oval Office during a meeting with Irish Taoiseach Michael Martin, Trump told reporters that “we don’t need more help and we don’t need any help” in the Strait of Hormuz.
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He criticized several parties that rejected joining such a coalition, including the United Kingdom, France and the NATO alliance.
“Despite the fact that we’ve helped them so much — we have thousands of soldiers in different countries around the world — they don’t want to help us, which is amazing,” Trump said.
“We don’t need help. That battle has been a long trial as far as I’m concerned from day one.”
Trump’s remarks on Tuesday came after he appealed over the weekend for countries with stakes in the Strait of Hormuz to join a naval alliance to allow unfettered passage.
is a strait The narrow waterway between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula carries 20 to 30 percent of global oil.
On Monday, Trump announced that “several countries” had agreed to join the coalition, telling reporters they were “on their way.” He suggested that it might take some time because some “have to travel the ocean”.
However, when asked if coalition members would be announced soon, Trump indicated “great support” from countries in the Middle East.
It was not immediately clear whether Trump was referring to existing US military assets in the countries he identified. Although several Gulf states have engaged in diplomacy aimed at keeping the Strait of Hormuz open, none have publicly joined the coalition.
“Qatar is great. The UAE is absolutely great. Saudi Arabia is great. Bahrain is very good,” Trump said.
“And of course, Israel is our partner. Israel is very strong with us,” he said.
The US president did not give any new timeline for the war, but he predicted that it would take 10 years for Iran to rebuild.
“But we are not ready to leave yet, but we will leave in the near future,” he told reporters.
‘A big test’
Earlier Tuesday, France’s Emmanuel Macron joined European leaders in rejecting Trump’s call.
“We are not a party to the conflict, so France will never participate in the operation to open or liberate the Strait of Hormuz in the current context,” Macron said.
That comes despite Trump expressing optimism Monday about France’s support. Asked about Macron’s position on Tuesday, Trump pointed out that the French president is nearing the end of his term in May of next year.
Likewise, Trump said he was “disappointed” that UK Prime Minister Keir Stormer had played down the chances of his country joining such a coalition.
Germany, Italy, Spain, Australia, Poland, Japan and South Korea have also declined to join the bloc or said doing so would require further scrutiny.
But Trump reserved his strongest criticism for the NATO alliance, of which he has been a frequent critic. He pointed to US financial contributions to the bloc, as well as US support for Ukraine while repelling Russian aggression.
“I think NATO is making a very stupid mistake,” he said.
“And I said a long time ago, you know, I wonder if NATO is ever going to be there for us. So this is one, it’s a big test, because we don’t need them, but they have to be there.”
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