Trump Says NATO Owes Him Help on Iran War After Supporting Ukraine

By The Financial District
6 hours ago
2 min read

Just two months ago, NATO was in the middle of an existential crisis over President Donald Trump’s insistence that the US take control of Greenland.

Trump suggested NATO owes him, despite years of berating member states for not spending more on defense and even belittling their losses fighting with the US in Afghanistan. (Photo: NATO Facebook)

He threatened tariffs and refused to rule out military action, but eventually backed down, Jason Ma reported for Fortune.

Then, Trump demanded the alliance help him clear the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has blocked since the US and Israel launched their war on the Islamic Republic two weeks ago.

“It’s only appropriate that people who are the beneficiaries of the strait will help to make sure that nothing bad happens there,” Trump told the Financial Times (FT).

After he precipitated the Greenland crisis this year and launched a trade war last year, allies have been re-evaluating the global order and their long-term future with the US. Trump admitted to the FT that he’s pessimistic about US allies coming to his aid.

But he suggested NATO owes him, despite years of berating member states for not spending more on defense and even belittling their losses fighting with the US in Afghanistan.

But Tehran is also signaling that the strait isn’t totally closed and that it wields the power to choose who may pass, as the US military has yet to re-establish free navigation through the narrow waterway.

Oil prices have soared as Iran’s attacks on shipping in the Persian Gulf have created a de facto blockade over the strait, through which one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas flow, with Wall Street warning crude could even hit $150 a barrel in a prolonged conflict.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi recently said that vessels from different countries have already been allowed to transit the strait and that a number of governments have approached Tehran about securing safe passage for their ships.