NATO countries have rounded on Donald Trump after he demanded their help to reopen the Strait of Hormuz as they refuse to be further drawn into the war with Iran.
The US President asked allies to join a mission to safeguard shipping in the Gulf but was snubbed by Sir Keir Starmer, who said the UK would not ‘send ships’ to protect oil tankers from Iranian attacks.
France, Germany, Italy, Greece and Australia also refused to take part in efforts to reopen the vital channel – through which 20 per cent of the world’s oil flows.
Mr Trump is desperately trying to open the strait as the Iranian regime’s ongoing closure causes a spike in oil prices and sparks fears of a global economic crisis.
But the EU has admitted ‘nobody’ is willing to put troops in ‘harm’s way’ over the waterway.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said: ‘Nobody is ready to put their people in harm’s way in the Strait of Hormuz. We have to find diplomatic ways to keep this open so that we don’t have a food crisis, fertilizers crisis, energy crisis as well.’
She said the EU is ready to invest in relations with the US, ‘but it takes two to tango’.
Mr Trump has been mocked by Iran ‘for turning to other countries’ for help, while repeatedly lambasting NATO for failing to pull its weight.
NATO countries have hit back at Donald Trump after he demanded their help to reopen the Strait of Hormuz
The US President asked allies to join a mission to safeguard shipping in the Gulf but was snubbed by Sir Keir Starmer , who said the UK would not ‘send ships’ to protect oil tankers from Iranian attacks
And he launched a broadside at Sir Keir, claiming he was ‘not happy’ with him and the UK’s approach to the conflict has been ‘terrible’.
But Finland’s President Alexander Stubb rushed to the Prime Minister’s defence, saying he admires Sir Keir his ability to ‘stay calm’.
Asked whether NATO allies, including Finland, should join the US, Mr Stubb said they had Russia ‘to take care of’.
He told the BBC: ‘This was a surprise attack, so none of us knew about it and that’s why probably there’s been reluctance and a little pushback.
‘We have our own backyard to take care of, a 1,340 km of border with Russia…We wouldn’t have much to give. We don’t have bases, these kinds of things to give. What I think I’d like to see now is more peace mediation rather than an escalation of the situation.’
It echoed comments from Germany, who claimed it is ‘not our war’.
Defence Minister Boris Pistorius rejected Trump’s demands and downplayed threats that such a stance by allies would hurt NATO.
‘What does (…) Donald Trump expect a handful or two handfuls of European frigates to do in the Strait of Hormuz that the powerful US navy cannot do?’ he said in Berlin.
‘This is not our war, we have not started it.’
Asked about Trump’s warning that NATO faces a ‘very bad’ future if its members fail to come to Washington’s aid, Pistorius said he did not anticipate NATO to fall apart over these differences.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz said: ‘There was never a joint decision on whether to intervene. That is why the question of how Germany might contribute militarily does not arise. We will not do so.’
He added: ‘This Iranian regime must come to an end,’ but ‘based on all the experience we have gained in previous years and decades, bombing it into submission is, in all likelihood, not the right approach.’
Mr Trump has warned NATO it faces a ‘very bad’ future if they don’t help the US. Pictured: Smoke rises after an aistrike on Tehran
Greece will also not engage in any military operations in the strait, government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis said on Monday.
Greece will only participate in the EU’s naval mission charged with protecting ships in the Red Sea, Marinakis told a press conference.
Meanwhile, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said diplomacy was the right way to solve the crisis in the Hormuz Strait and there were no naval missions Italy is involved in that could be extended to the area.
‘As far as Hormuz is concerned I believe diplomacy needs to prevail,’ Mr Tajani said.
Italy is involved in defensive naval missions in the Red Sea ‘but I don’t see any missions that can be extended to Hormuz,’ he added.
Estonia’s foreign minister, Margus Tsahkna, said US allies in Europe wanted to understand Trump’s ‘strategic goals. What will be the plan?’
Mr Trump has warned that NATO faces a ‘very bad’ future if they fail to support the US against Iran.
On Sunday he said: ‘It’s only appropriate that people who are the beneficiaries of the strait will help to make sure that nothing bad happens there. If there’s no response or if it’s a negative response, I think it will be very bad for the future of NATO.’
But his threats appear to have made little impact.
In his first statement since becoming supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei vowed to continue using the ‘lever of blocking the Strait of Hormuz’ because it is where ‘the enemy is highly vulnerable’.
And Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi derided Trump for asking for help to reopen it while demanding Iran surrenders.
He said on Monday: ‘They carried out large-scale attacks and again repeated the demand for unconditional surrender.
‘Today, after roughly 15 days (sic) since the war began, they are turning to other countries for help to ensure the security of the Strait of Hormuz and keep it open.
From our perspective, the strait is open; it is only closed to our enemies and to those who carried out unjust aggression against our country.’
Earlier on Monday, Iran repeated the claim the passageway was not closed but merely operating under ‘special conditions’.
The price of oil has risen rapidly following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz
‘Parties not involved in the military aggression against Iran have been able to pass through the Strait of Hormuz in coordination with and with permission from our armed forces,’ Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said.
‘No coastal country in such a situation can allow enemy ships and vessels to pass normally in order to strengthen themselves and carry out aggressive actions against that coastal state,’ he claimed, adding the US, Israel and their allies ‘should naturally not be able to use the Strait of Hormuz to strike Iran.’
On Monday, Sir Keir said the US had ‘massively weakened’ the military of the ‘abhorrent regime in Iran’.
He said the Strait of Hormuz must be reopened to ‘ensure stability in the markets’.
He said he was willing to be part of a ‘viable collective plan’ for the Strait, but that no decisions had been taken yet amid suggestions the UK is only looking at deploying anti-mine drones. ‘This is not easy. It’s not straight forward,’ he added.
With Iran warning on Sunday of reprisals against the UK, it is understood there are no current plans to send British warships to escort stranded tankers. Instead, ministers are offering mine-hunting drones and missile interceptors as part of an international effort to free up shipping on the route.
On Saturday, Mr Trump said he wanted Britain, France and China to ‘send ships to the area so that the Strait will no longer be threatened by a nation that has been totally decapitated’.
His demand was repeated by Mike Waltz, US ambassador to the United Nations, who said: ‘The conversation is ongoing. The last time Iran tried to constrain global energy supplies, you had French, United Kingdom forces escorting tankers heading towards their markets. That is what President Trump is calling upon the world.’
