Trump says Australia should participate because ‘we always say yes to them’
Updated ,first published
Washington: US President Donald Trump said he was surprised Australia said “no” to his request to help with the war in Iran and called on Canberra to “get involved”.
Asked what he wanted Australia to do, Trump said: “They should be involved… I’m a little surprised they said ‘No’ because we always tell them yes.”
It was not immediately clear what Trump meant when he said he rejected Australia’s request for assistance.
The President was answering a question from Sky News Australia as he boarded a US military helicopter to leave the White House for Florida. He did not respond to further shouted questions.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Richard Marles had previously said that there was no request from Washington for Australia to send a warship to the Strait of Hormuz.
The Albanian government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
On Monday (US time), Trump Called out to Australia, Japan and South Korea He said the US did not need their help because it was not helping with the operation. “WE NEVER DID!” he said in that article.
He specifically criticized the United Kingdom for not sending an aircraft carrier to help and the United States’ NATO allies for not joining efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
But on Thursday the leaders of Britain, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Japan said they were ready to contribute “appropriate efforts” to help unblock the crucial shipping transit.
The British government has now also signed off on allowing the US to use UK military bases for “defensive operations” to weaken Iran’s missile sites and capabilities used to attack ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
More to come
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Michael Koziol is the North America correspondent for The Age and the Sydney Morning Herald. He is a former Sydney editor, Sun-Herald deputy editor and a federal political correspondent in Canberra.Connect with: X or email.
