America’s NATO allies are steering clear of the blockade President Donald Trump is imposing on Iran.
As noted by U.S. Central Command in a post on X, the blockade that takes effect Monday only targets ships coming to or going from Iran. Other ships are free to go about their business as they sail through the Strait of Hormuz.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said his nation will not support the U.S. or be “dragged in” to the war, according to CNBC.
“We’re not supporting the blockade, and all of the marshalling — diplomatically, politically and [in terms of] capability — we do have mine-sweeping capability, I won’t go into operational matters, but we do have that capability — that’s all focused, from our point of view, on getting the Strait fully open,” he said.
“What we’ve been doing over the last few weeks — and this was part of what I was discussing with the Gulf states last week — is bringing countries together to keep the strait open, not shut,” he said.
Trump had previously said the U.S. would have help from other nations in enforcing the blockade.
Germany also said it will not partner with the United States, offering an official response that Trump’s statement about support was “a vague statement that is not based on any new facts.”
🚨 Rick Scott just went off on NATO: “Europe would all be speaking German right now if it wasn’t for American service members saving their butts in World War II. For them to not support what we’re doing in Iran is foolish.”
Time to leave NATO!pic.twitter.com/lfxIIQPSXy
— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) April 10, 2026
French President Emmanuel Macron said France would bring nations together to talk, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Nations supporting “a peaceful multinational mission” would be invited.
“This strictly defensive mission, distinct from the belligerents, will be deployed as soon as the situation allows,” Macron said, adding that it will take place “in the coming days.”
On Sunday, Trump expressed his dissatisfaction with NATO, which has also avoided getting involved in the war.
“But I’m very disappointed in NATO,” he said, according to Fox News.
“They weren’t there for us. We pay trillions of dollars for NATO, and they weren’t there for us,” he added.
“When you think of it, we’re guarding against Russia,” he continued. “And I’ve long thought it was a little ridiculous, but we spent trillions of dollars doing it. And I think that’s going to be under very serious examination.”
SECRETARY RUBIO: The U.S. is constantly asked to help in wars and we have. But when we had a need, it didn’t get positive responses from NATO. A couple leaders said that Iran was not Europe’s war. Well, Ukraine isn’t our war, yet we’ve contributed more to that fight than anyone. pic.twitter.com/AEDMLBbLFQ
— Department of State (@StateDept) March 26, 2026
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said last week that “it’s quite sad that NATO turned their backs on the American people over the course of the last six weeks when it’s the American people who have been funding their defense.”
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