After being rebuffed by NATO members and other allies like Japan, President Trump on Tuesday said the U.S. is prepared to continue military operations against Iran, including clearing mines from the critical Strait of Hormuz, without their help.
Mr. Trump said on social media that while NATO countries agreed with the objectives of Operation Epic Fury, especially preventing the Islamic republic from possessing nuclear weapons, they told the White House that they “don’t want to get involved.”
“I am not surprised by their action, however, because I always considered NATO, where we spend hundreds of billions of dollars per year protecting these countries, to be a ‘one-way street,’” the president said. “We will protect them, but they will do nothing for us, in particular, in a time of need.”
European officials have expressed concern over the U.S. actions in Iran and have refused to participate in operations to open the Strait of Hormuz to commercial ship traffic.
“We are not party to the conflict, and therefore France will never take part in operations to open or liberate the Strait of Hormuz in the current context,” French President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday at the start of a Cabinet meeting. “Once the bombing has ceased, we are ready, along with other nations, to assume responsibility for the escort system.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham, South Carolina Republican, said Tuesday that he recently spoke to Mr. Trump about European unwillingness to help keep Hormuz functioning.
“I have never heard him so angry in my life. I share that anger given what’s at stake,” Mr. Graham posted on X.
