Trump calls on allies to help guard the Strait of Hormuz. Most have refused
WASHINGTON— President Trump on Monday expressed disappointment that U.S. allies have not been willing to send warships to protect commercial shipping passing through the Strait of Hormuz; It’s a sign of Washington’s growing isolation as it tries to stabilize one of the world’s most critical shipping lanes amid its war against Iran.
Trump declined to name the “score of countries” he said have agreed to help reopen the oil route under threat of retaliation from Iran, but he was troubled by the hesitancy of many of his longtime allies to join the international police force. He said they should “jump in to help us.”
Trump said at the White House: “Some of the countries that we’ve helped for many years, we’ve protected them from terrible foreign sources, and they weren’t that enthusiastic. The level of that enthusiasm is important to me.”
For Trump, securing the aid of allies is as much a domestic economic need as it is international diplomacy. Since hostilities against Iran began on February 28, Tehran has retaliated by targeting regional oil facilities and at least 20 ships operating in and around the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman.
The result was “the largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market,” according to the International Energy Agency, and sent international oil prices soaring more than 30% to over $100 a barrel as the war entered its third week with no clear end in sight.
Meanwhile, the diplomatic row reflects the limits of Trump’s influence at a moment when the global economy is absorbing one of the worst oil supply shocks in modern history; This dynamic has prompted Trump to warn that countries that refuse to help may see Washington as a much less generous partner.
Despite Trump’s demands, some key allies have publicly rejected his calls for support.
French President Emmanuel Macron officially rejected the request, saying France would maintain a “defensive and protective” stance focusing on stability rather than escalating tensions.
German Foreign Minister Boris Pistorius spoke more clearly and said, “This is not our war, we did not start it.”
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer also refused to commit, saying Britain “will not be drawn into a wider war”. Italy, Spain, Australia and Japan similarly backed down; South Korea and China did not publicly announce their intentions.
The rejections appear to have made Trump’s demands even sharper. At one point during Monday’s event, the president turned to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and said he would share the list of countries refusing to help; this suggested that Congress could play a role in any retaliatory measures against reluctant allies.
“Why do we protect countries that do not protect us?” Trump said.
But Trump has also given conflicting signals about how much ally help he actually needs. At one point he claimed that the United States did not need help from other countries.
“We don’t need them, but it’s interesting; in some cases I do it not because we need them, but because I want to see how they react,” Trump said.
Trump predicted uncertainty regarding the threat to commercial shipping. He said the possibility of mines was “sufficient to prevent people from passing through the waterway” but that “we don’t know” whether Iran had planted mines in the strait.
“They might not have any mines,” he said. “We hit all the mining ships. They’re all gone, but only one is enough.”
Speech aboard Air Force One on SundayTrump also sent mixed messages about threats and the need for help. He said the United States was coordinating with about seven countries to deploy naval forces to “monitor the straits,” adding in the same remarks that “maybe we shouldn’t even be there.”
He argued that American forces should not be there because other nations are more dependent on oil shipments via the oil route, a turn that drew criticism from allies who said it created confusion about Washington’s strategy in a conflict that the United States itself initiated.
“I have a very hard time believing that China and other countries that the president has assigned to actually escort ships across the strait to keep the strait open. That doesn’t make any sense to me,” Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said in an NBC “Meet the Press” interview on Sunday.
“The bottom line is we really don’t know how long this war will last,” he added.
But Trump is maintaining pressure on allied countries and making the future of the conflict more open-ended depending on their reaction.
Trump insisted Monday that “numerous countries have told me they are on the way” but said he “preferred not to say” who they were.
He later said the tepid response from some U.S. allies had reinforced his doubts about the value of the NATO alliance, echoing comments over the weekend in which he warned that failure to aid would be “very bad for the future of NATO” and that the United States would “remember” those who failed to step up.
Asked if he was sure Macron would help reopen the strait, Trump told reporters: “Yes, I mean, I’m sure. … I think he will help. So I’ll let you know.”
Europe is nevertheless drawn further into the conflict.
Britain initially refused to support US military operations, but softened its position after Trump mocked Starmer as “no Winston Churchill” and called Britain a “once great ally”. France also announced last week that it was preparing a separate “purely defensive” naval mission to accompany commercial ships through the Bosphorus when it becomes safe.
Going forward, it’s unclear how the European Union and other nations around the world will respond to Trump’s pressure.
“No one wants to actively participate in this war. And of course everyone is interested in what the outcome will be,” Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s top diplomat, said after a meeting of foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday. “This is not Europe’s war, but Europe’s interests are directly at stake.”
