President Donald Trump has said that the United States does not “need any help” in reopening the Strait of Hormuz, despite his appeals for an international coalition to support shipping during the war against Iran.
Speaking from the Oval Office during a meeting with Irish Taoiseach Michael Martin, Trump told reporters, “We don’t need too much help, and we don’t need any help” on the Strait of Hormuz.
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He then criticised several parties that have rejected joining such a coalition, including the United Kingdom, France and the NATO alliance.
“Despite the fact that we helped them so much – we have thousands of soldiers in different countries all over the world – they don’t want to help us, which is amazing,” Trump said.
“We don’t need help. That war has been long prosecuted as far as I’m concerned, almost from day one.”
Trump’s remarks on Tuesday came after he made a weekend appeal for countries with a stake in the Strait of Hormuz to join a naval coalition to allow for unfettered passage.
The strait is a narrow waterway between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula through which 20 to 30 percent of global oil travels.
On Monday, Trump announced that “numerous countries” had agreed to join the coalition, telling reporters they were “on their way”. He suggested it could take some time, because some “have to travel an ocean”.
However, when asked if the members of the coalition would soon be announced, Trump pointed to “great support” from countries in the Middle East.
It was not immediately clear if Trump was referring to the pre-existing US military assets located in the countries he identified. While several Gulf countries have been involved in diplomacy aimed at keeping the Strait of Hormuz open, none has publicly joined the coalition.
“Qatar has been great. UAE has been absolutely great. Saudi Arabia has been terrific. Bahrain has been very good,” Trump said.
“And, of course, Israel has been our partner. Israel’s been very, very strong along with us,” he said.
The US president gave no new timeline on the war, but predicted it would take 10 years for Iran to rebuild.
“But we’re not ready to leave yet, but we will be leaving in the near future,” he told reporters.
‘A great test’
Earlier on Tuesday, French President Emmanuel Macron joined European leaders in rejecting Trump’s call.
“We are not party to the conflict, and therefore, France will never take part in operations to open or liberate the Strait of Hormuz in the current context,” Macron said.
Macron’s statement came despite Trump on Monday expressing optimism in France’s support. When asked about Macron’s position on Tuesday, Trump pointed out that the French president is approaching the end of his term in May next year.
Likewise, Trump said he was “disappointed” that UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has downplayed the likelihood of his country joining the coalition.
Germany, Italy, Spain, Australia, Poland, Japan and South Korea have also either doused joining the coalition or said doing so would require further review.
Trump left his most forceful criticism for the NATO alliance, of which he has been a regular critic. He pointed to US financial contributions to the bloc, as well as US support for Ukraine as it fends off a Russian invasion.
“I think NATO is making a very foolish mistake,” he said.
“And I’ve long said that, you know, I wonder whether or not NATO would ever be there for us. So this is a, this was a great test, because we don’t need them, but they should have been there.”
