President Donald Trump has said the United States “doesn’t need any assistance” in reopening the Strait of Hormuz, despite appealing for the international coalition to support shipping during the war with Iran.
“We don’t need much help, we don’t need any help,” Trump told reporters from the Oval Office during a meeting with Irishman Michael Martin regarding the Strait of Hormuz.
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He also criticized some political parties that refuse to join such coalitions, including the UK, France and the NATO alliance.
“Despite the fact that we helped them so much, we have thousands of soldiers in different countries around the world, and they won’t help us. This is amazing,” Trump said.
“We don’t need help. That war has been going on for a long time, almost from the beginning, as far as I know.”
President Trump’s remarks on Tuesday came after he appealed over the weekend to countries with interests in the Strait of Hormuz to join a naval coalition that would allow free navigation.
The Strait is a narrow waterway between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula, through which 20 to 30 percent of the world’s oil passes.
On Monday, President Trump announced that “many countries” had agreed to join the coalition and told reporters that “we are preparing.” He suggested it could take some time because some people “have to travel across the ocean.”
But when asked if members of the coalition would be announced soon, Trump pointed to the “tremendous support” from Middle Eastern countries.
It was not immediately clear whether President Trump was referring to existing U.S. military assets in the countries he identified. Several Gulf states have engaged in diplomacy aimed at keeping the Strait of Hormuz open, but none has openly joined the coalition.
President Trump said, “Qatar was great. The UAE was really great. Saudi Arabia was great. Bahrain was very good.”
“And of course Israel is our partner. Israel has been very strong with us.”
The US president did not give a new timetable for the war, but predicted Iran’s reconstruction would take 10 years.
“I’m not ready to leave yet, but I plan to leave in the near future,” he told reporters.
“Great test.”
Earlier Tuesday, French President Emmanuel Macron joined European leaders in rejecting Trump’s call.
“France will never take part in the operation to open and liberate the Strait of Hormuz under the current circumstances, as we are not parties to the conflict,” President Macron said.
Macron’s statement came despite President Trump expressing optimism about France’s support on Monday. Asked about Macron’s position on Tuesday, President Trump pointed out that the French president is nearing the end of his term next May.
Similarly, President Trump said he was “disappointed” that British Prime Minister Keir Starmer downplayed the possibility of his country joining a coalition government.
Germany, Italy, Spain, Australia, Poland, Japan and South Korea are also considering joining the coalition, or have said their participation requires further consideration.
President Trump has made his strongest criticism of the NATO alliance, which he has always criticized. He pointed to U.S. financial contributions to the bloc and U.S. support for Ukraine in fending off Russian aggression.
“I think NATO is making a very stupid mistake,” he said.
“And I’ve been saying for a long time that I doubt whether NATO will be there for us. I mean, this was a great test because we don’t need NATO, but NATO should have been there.”
