PRESIDENT Donald Trump slammed NATO allies over their lack of support for the US-Israel war on Iran as the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed, with no end to the conflict in sight.
NATO countries are “COWARDS, and we will REMEMBER!” he posted on his Truth Social platform on Friday.
The US president complained NATO countries did not want to join the fight against Iran, yet still complain about high oil prices.
“Now that fight is militarily WON, with very little danger for them, they complain about the high oil prices they are forced to pay, but don’t want to help open the Strait of Hormuz, a simple military maneuver that is the single reason for the high oil prices. So easy for them to do, with so little risk,” he wrote.
Trump has been calling for major US allies and others, none of whom were consulted or advised on the war, to help secure the safety of shipping through the Iran-controlled Strait of Hormuz. The conflict has roiled global markets, killed thousands and displaced millions since US -Israeli strikes began on February 28.
In a change of tone, the United Kingdom announced on Friday that it was now allowing the US to use its bases to target Iran for the “collective self-defence of the region”.
According to a statement from Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s office, ministers met and “condemned Iran’s expansion of its targets to include international shipping.”
“They confirmed that the agreement for the US to use UK bases in the collective self-defence of the region includes US defensive operations to degrade the missile sites and capabilities being used to attack ships in the Strait of Hormuz,” the statement added.
Trump’s assailing of Europe comes as NATO announced on Friday it was “adjusting” its mission in Iraq, after officials in the country said the non-combat force had been temporarily withdrawn due to the Iran war.
“We can confirm that we are adjusting our posture in the context of NATO Mission Iraq,” alliance spokesperson Allison Hart told the AFP news agency in a statement.
Meanwhile, US Air Force General Alexus Grynkewich, NATO’s supreme allied commander Europe, confirmed the relocation of all NATO Iraq mission personnel to Europe in a statement.
“I would like to thank the Republic of Iraq and all the Allies who assisted in the safe relocation of NATO personnel from Iraq,” the statement reads.
French President Emmanuel Macron said after a two-day European Union summit in Brussels that defending international law and promoting de-escalation was “the best we can do”.
“I have not heard anyone here express a willingness to enter this conflict – quite the opposite.”
The European government’s meeting in Brussels was dominated by the fallout from the war on Iran, particularly in the energy market.
Al Jazeera’s Step Vaessen, reporting from Brussels, said the EU has not really “reached any consensus on measures that are going to be taken by the body as a whole”.
“This comes amid the announcement by the European Central Bank that it will cut growth forecasts and has raised inflation predictions in the coming months. So what we can expect, especially here in the European Union, is very high energy costs,” she said.
“Leaders discussed at length reforming a so-called energy trading system … but the general consensus was that there is no consensus.”