Trump has warned of consequences for NATO if its allies do not assist with the Strait of Hormuz

Trump wants to enlist allies to help secure the Strait of Hormuz. Donald Trump. Photo: aa.com.tr

US President Donald Trump is attempting to enlist international partners to unblock the Strait of Hormuz, which is critical to global oil exports.

Speaking to journalists, Donald Trump stated that he had discussed the matter with ‘around seven’ countries.

However, he did not specify which countries he was referring to. Nevertheless, the day before, he publicly called on China, France, Japan, South Korea, the UK and other nations to send warships to the region.

Donald Trump argues that it is these countries that are most dependent on oil supplies through the strait, whereas the US has sufficient energy resources of its own.

«I demand that these countries come and defend their territory, because it is their territory. This is where they get their energy from, and they must come and help us defend it,» he said.

The US President also stated that Iran is ‘effectively defeated’ militarily and has limited capabilities to attack ships. According to him, partners are expected first and foremost to assist with patrolling the Strait.

«I think the Iranians might put up a bit of a fight, but not much. We are in talks with other countries about cooperating with us on patrolling the strait. If we do that — great; if not — also great. But remember: in many cases, we have always stood with NATO countries, helping them with Ukraine. It would be interesting to see which country would not help us with this very small task of simply keeping the strait open,» said Donald Trump.

In comments to the Financial Times, he added that a lack of support from allies could have serious consequences for NATO’s future.

«We didn’t need to help them with Ukraine. Ukraine is thousands of miles away from us… But we helped them. Now we’ll see if they help us,» the BBC quoted him as saying.

Meanwhile, according to media reports, Washington’s allies are in no hurry to support the initiative. In particular, Japan and Australia have stated that they do not plan to send naval vessels to the region. South Korea has indicated that it will consider the request.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer discussed the matter with Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.