Trump: Nato Allies Have Days to Send Warships to Reopen Hormuz
Donald Trump has demanded that America’s Nato allies send warships to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz within days or risk permanent harm to the alliance, saying words are no longer enough. The Telegraph has more.
The US President was expecting firm military commitments from European leaders within days, Der Spiegel reported on Thursday.
In an apparent reference to his demand, Trump posted on Truth Social that Nato members would not act “unless they have pressure placed upon them”.
A Nato spokesman added that the US expected “concrete commitments and action to ensure freedom of navigation in the strait”.
Mark Rutte, Nato’s Secretary-General, met Trump in Washington on Wednesday. They reportedly discussed the plans, which were then passed on to European leaders, who were warned that mere political support would no longer suffice.
Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister said on Thursday that the strait was “open” despite traffic having remained at a virtual standstill since the temporary ceasefire was agreed.
Tehran indicated that it would start charging fees for ships transiting the vital waterway, in a move that has been met with criticism in Europe. …
Nato chief Mark Rutte insisted that Washington’s allies “are doing everything” Donald Trump has requested to strengthen the alliance.
Giving an address in Washington, he said that Nato partners were taking part in coordinated effort to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and “providing a massive amount of support”.
“When it came time to provide the logistical and other support the United States needed in Iran, some allies were a bit slow, to say the least. In fairness, they were also a bit surprised. To maintain the element of surprise for the initial strikes, President Trump opted not to inform allies ahead of time,” Rutte said during a speech in Washington.
“But what I see, when I look across Europe today, is allies providing a massive amount of support,” he added. “Nearly without exception, allies are doing everything the United States is asking. They have heard and are responding to President Trump’s requests.”
Kaja Kallas, the EU’s top diplomat, responded that it was “unfair” of Donald Trump to accuse Europe of not going enough to help the US in its war against Iran.
“I feel that this is really unfair. Of course we can all do more, but then the question is, we also have our security theatre in Europe. We have Russia’s war against Ukraine going on for four years, we haven’t seen really the Gulf countries helping us there, whereas it can’t be only one-way street,” she told CNN.
She argued Europe did not create the situation the region, and yet still it is doing “a lot”, including providing air defences to the region, protecting the Red Sea and supporting the Lebanese Government.
Worth reading in full.
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I have to say I am none the wiser.
The head of NATO and some Finnish lady say NATO allies have done a lot but what exactly?
The only information I have is that several countries including Spain, UK and France have refused the use of bases and airspace, at least at some point.
My impression is that what Starmer, Sanchez and Macron have been trying to do is score political points opposing Trump and make him look as foolish as possible, rather than help in any way.
For the last few decades politicians and their diplomats have been satisfied to do the courtiers dances before the Emperor of International Opinion and International Law. The dances involved a great deal if positioning and perhaps a stiffly worded note to the rebellious rustics outside the ballroom.
But the Emperor has no clothes. International Opinion is increasingly fractured and International Law is toothless (by design).
Love him or loathe him Trump & co know this and don’t care to keep funding the Emperor’s new clothes. And all the courtiers don’t know which way to turn.
Or what? I guess the threat will come at some point – all part of the Art of the Deal, apparently. Still, it’ll cause a bit more division in the worlds biggest game of divide and conquer.
And the latest from the Trump administration: “American men will be automatically registered for military draft aged 18”. He’s done a fantastic job of spitting the MAGA base.
The NATO is a mutual defense pact. As this war wasn’t started by an attack on a NATO member state, it’s a bit unclear what business NATO member states should have with it just because they’re NATO member states.
Excellent point! And NATO means “North Atlantic Treaty Organization” … nothing to do with the Middle East or Ukraine.
Off- T, sorry
Irish government is sending in the army to break up the protests in Dublin and other areas.
This could get nasty, the Irish don’t like being bullied 😤!!
The Irish seem to relish the role of under dog so long as the perceived master is not England. They love being told what to do by the EU and they are happy to become a caliphate.
Ireland likes to lecture others but has never defended itself.
Having lived in Ireland for 12 years now that’s not what I’m hearing from the locals, they are getting really sick and tired of the Brussels lead government!
They feel like they’ve fought off one empire only to walk straight into the control of another!
That’s interesting, because that’s exactly what the Ethnic Africans of Kenya, Tanzania & Uganda said just before they kicked all the Indian Subcontinentals out of those three African countries, because the Indians & Pakistanis had been buying up everything in sight, taking over all the top government posts, and treating the Indigenous Africans as second-class citizens in their own ancestral homelands.
It was the great Ethnic African President Jomo Kenyatta, “Father of the Kenyan Nation”, who said they hadn’t got rid of the British only to be taken over by Indians & Pakistanis! Ireland should follow his example. He also said, just before kicking them all out in 1972,
“There are too many ticks on the lion’s belly!”
Unfortunately, they refused to return to India, but all came swarming into the West.
You’ve expl6 it better than I could👍
Hear, hear, Epping! “Truer words were never spoke!”
“I feel that this is really unfair”
Diddums. Life is unfair. We’re not in the primary school playground.
“Of course we can all do more, but then the question is, we also have our security theatre in Europe. We have Russia’s war against Ukraine going on for four years, we haven’t seen really the Gulf countries helping us there”
Well no the Gulf countries didn’t help but I think the USA might have done…
“She argued Europe did not create the situation the region”
More playground logic. But miss, SHE started it…. No we did not create the situation but it impacts us, so regardless of anything else, are WE going to moan or do something about it?
If you want to send your kids to die in YET ANOTHER FOREIGN WAR, you are welcome to do that, but as a British citizen, I do not consent to a single member of the British Armed Forces being sent to ANY more foreign wars for ANY REASON.
We need them all here at home, to defend and protect our island home from the Third World Invaders and the Communist Traitors who have opened the gates of the West to them.
That’s a fair point. I am highly sceptical of the wisdom of these attacks.
Good!
Spot on. So many people have become war hawks simply because it’s Trump – Trump told them it’s ok. But these same people would baulk at the thought of sending their children to the front line or going themselves, and were previously passionately anti-war. That takes a special sort of mental gymnast – and there seems to be a huge number of them!
Yes, someone should ask Trump whether he will be sending his own son there, or just expecting the plebs to send theirs.
Trump says charging countries to use Strait of Hormuz could be ‘joint venture’ with Iran | The Independent
So the “deal” for NATO countries is to send their dwindling Armed Forces to a new “Battle of Thermopylae” to be massacred, so that Trump & the Iran Crazies can set up a kind of Pirate Partnership, demanding massive tolls from all other countries sending ships through Hormuz, and trousering the cash.
Straits closed after just a short while.
Maybe because in the last day Israel took the lives of around 300 men, women and children injuring many times more bombing Beirut, immediately after and according to Pakistani mediators who brokered the “cease fire”, in contravention of its terms.
It took ten minutes. Ten minutes to kill more civilians than Russia/Ukraine managed in the last year.
Beirut is a Mediterranean city. Over one third of its population are Christian.
No doubt the killed and injured were Hezbolla.
Britain and France should play a key role, they’ve both got years of experience of escorting craft across a relatively narrow stretch of water.
Simply change the EU flag to white and just wave it. The French will help with the detail unconditional surrender. They have previous.