NATO vs Trump
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Strait of Hormuz in focus, but ‘no help needed’
Claims of decisive blow, Middle East backing
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US President Donald Trump on Wednesday suggested the possibility of “finishing off what’s left of the Iranian Terror State” in a post on Truth Social, raising questions about his stance on escalation amidst US-Israel's continued war on Tehran that has now dragged well over two weeks, bringing West Asia to a standstill.“I wonder what would happen if we ‘finished off’ what’s left of the Iranian Terror State , and let the Countries that use it, we don’t, be responsible for the so called ‘Straight?’ That would get some of our non-responsive ‘Allies’ in gear, and fast!!! President DJT,” Trump wrote.This development comes a day after Trump lashed out at NATO, accusing most member states of refusing to back Washington’s ongoing military operation against Iran despite supporting its broader objective.“The United States has been informed by most of our NATO ‘Allies’ that they don’t want to get involved… despite the fact that almost every Country strongly agreed with what we are doing,” he said.Calling NATO a “one way street,” Trump added: “We will protect them, but they will do nothing for us, in particular, in a time of need.”He went further to argue that the scale of US military success had rendered allied support irrelevant.“Because of the fact that we have had such Military Success, we no longer ‘need,’ or desire, the NATO Countries’ assistance — WE NEVER DID!”Extending his criticism beyond Europe, Trump named key Indo-Pacific partners — Japan, Australia and South Korea — saying: “WE DO NOT NEED THE HELP OF ANYONE!”The remarks revive long-standing burden-sharing tensions between Washington and its allies and raise fresh questions over alliance cohesion at a time of intensifying conflict.Trump also downplayed the need for allied support in securing the strategically critical Strait of Hormuz, through which a significant portion of global oil supplies transit.“We don’t need too much help, and we don’t need any help, actually,” he said when asked about escorting oil tankers.While acknowledging that NATO countries backed efforts to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, he criticised their reluctance to participate militarily.“All of the NATO allies agreed with us, but they don’t want to help… despite the fact that we help them so much.”Trump suggested that US operations had already achieved their objectives, saying the war had been “largely prosecuted… almost from day one.”Doubling down on claims of a sweeping military victory, Trump said Iranian command structures had been dismantled and key figures behind recent violence eliminated, including one he described as responsible for the killing of “32,000 people.”He contrasted NATO’s stance with support from regional partners, naming countries such as Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Israel.“The Middle Eastern countries have been very strong in their support… Israel has been very, very strong along with us,” he said.At the same time, Trump defended his earlier decision to withdraw the US from the Iran nuclear deal under former President Barack Obama, arguing it had prevented a larger catastrophe.“If I didn’t terminate the Iran nuclear deal… you would have had a nuclear war four years ago… a nuclear holocaust,” he said.