US President Donald Trump has hit out at NATO member states for their lack of support for the war against Iran. "Without the U.S.A., NATO IS A PAPER TIGER!" Trump said in a social media post.
Trump criticized NATO allies who in the past few days have rejected his calls to help secure the safety of shipping through the Iran-controlled Strait of Hormuz.
“Now that fight is Militarily WON, with very little danger for them, they complain about the high oil prices they are forced to pay, but don’t want to help open the Strait of Hormuz, a simple military maneuver that is the single reason for the high oil prices,” Trump said.
Trump hits out at NATO "So easy for them to do, with so little risk. COWARDS, and we will REMEMBER!” the US President added.
Iran's blockade of Strait of Hormuz In response to the US-Israeli attacks on the country, Iran has imposed a de facto blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, through which around 20 to 21 million barrels of crude oil and petroleum products pass every day, representing about 20% to 25% of the world's total seaborne oil trade. This has resulted in a significant surge in global oil prices.
Trump has been pressing allies to help safeguard the critical waterway to ease a chokepoint on the region’s oil exports.
None of the countries Trump has called on to help were consulted before the US-Israeli attack on Iran started.
World powers divided over Strait of Hormuz Earlier, Germany, Britain, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Japan and Canada pledged in a joint statement on Thursday to join "appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait." But German Chancellor Friedrich Merz made clear that this presupposed an end to combat.
French President Emmanuel Macron said after a European Union summit in Brussels that defending international law and promoting de-escalation was "the best we can do," adding: "I have not heard anyone here express a willingness to enter this conflict — quite the opposite."
Trump vs NATO Trump has a long history of being a NATO skeptic, and in recent days, he has been criticizing the Western military alliance for not helping the US and Israel.