‘It will be very bad…’: Trump asks NATO nations to help in Hormuz security, reminds them of Ukraine support amid Iran war

US President Donald Trump on Sunday (Mar 15) warned that North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) could face a “very bad” future if US allies fail to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz. His message is seen as a blunt call to European nations to support Washington’s efforts amid the ongoing conflict with Iran. He also reminded the NATO nations of America's help in Ukraine-Russia war. The US president also expressed disappointment over the UK’s initial refusal to allow the use of its bases by the US.

In an telephonic interview to Financial Times, “If there’s no response or if it’s a negative response I think it will be very bad for the future of NATO. We have a thing called NATO…We’ve been very sweet. We didn’t have to help them with Ukraine. Ukraine is thousands of miles away from us . . . But we helped them. Now we’ll see if they help us. Because I’ve long said that we’ll be there for them but they won’t be there for us. And I’m not sure that they’d be there.” He also wanted “people who are going to knock out some bad actors that are along the [Iranian] shore”. Trump implied he wanted European commando teams or other military help to eliminate Iranians making “a nuisance” in the Gulf with drones and naval mines. “We’re hitting them very hard. They’ve got nothing left but to make a little trouble in the Strait but these people are beneficiaries and they ought to help us police it. We’ll help them. But they should also be there. You sort of need a lot of people to watch over a few.”

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While speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump said that he has “demanded” that about seven countries heavily reliant on oil join a coalition to police the Strait of Hormuz but he did not reveal the names of the countries. “I’m demanding that these countries come in and protect their own territory, because it is their own territory,” Trump said about the strait.

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Trump speaks to UK PM

On Sunday, Trump also held a telephonic chat with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and both leaders discussed about the "importance" of reopening the Strait of Hormuz, currently blocked by Iran, the UK leader's office said. "The leaders discussed the ongoing situation in the Middle East and the importance of reopening the Strait of Hormuz to end the disruption to global shipping, which is driving up costs worldwide," a Downing Street spokeswoman said in a statement. Starmer also "expressed his condolences for the American service personnel who have lost their lives during the conflict", the statement said. However, Trump expressed particular frustration with Britain’s response so far. "The UK might be considered the number one ally, the longest serving et cetera and when I asked for them to come, they didn’t want to come,” he said. “And as soon as we basically wiped out the danger capacity from Iran, they said, ‘oh well we’ll send two ships’, and I said, ‘we need these ships before we win, not after we win’. I’ve long said that NATO is a one-way street.”

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