By Amjad Qaimkhani
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump complained that several countries were not helping reopen the Strait of Hormuz, despite the United States spending billions on NATO and protecting its allies for decades. Speaking in the Oval Office, Trump said nations whose oil passes through the strategic waterway should now step forward and share responsibility for securing it.
Trump said the US had invested billions of dollars in NATO’s defence but allies were not standing with Washington when it needed support. He also expressed disappointment with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, saying London announced the deployment of warships only after the conflict had already been won. Trump said he told the British leader that aircraft carriers were no longer needed once the war was over.
The US president also said he wanted to visit China but had asked for the trip to be postponed for a month because he needed to remain in the United States during the current situation. Earlier at a press conference, Trump said the US had protected many countries for 40 years and questioned why they were reluctant to join the conflict.
Trump named China, Japan and South Korea among countries he said should help secure the Strait of Hormuz, particularly those whose oil supplies pass through the route. He claimed the United States had already destroyed Iranian boats laying naval mines in the strait and said Iran’s naval and air defence systems had been completely neutralised.
He further claimed the Iranian regime had collapsed and suggested that Iran’s new supreme leader might not even be alive, adding that there was no leadership left in Tehran capable of negotiating. When asked whether the war could end this week, Trump said he could not give a definite answer but believed the conflict would end soon.
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