American President Donald Trump once again criticized the refusal of US allies to send forces to guard the Strait of Hormuz, which was blocked by Iran after the Israeli-American military operation, and threatened that Washington would not take care of its security, Agence France-Presse reported, quoted by BTA.
For several days, the American president has been deeply irritated by the refusal of Washington's main NATO allies, including France and Britain, to help the United States unblock the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of the world's crude oil transited before the war in the Middle East.
"I wonder what will happen What would happen if we finished off what was left of the terrorist state of Iran and let the countries that benefit from the so-called "strait" take responsibility for it? That would get some of our inactive allies to act, and fast!", Trump wrote on his social network "Truth Social".
Trump's statements regarding the Strait of Hormuz are increasingly contradictory.
For example, yesterday he described as "a really stupid mistake" the refusal of many NATO member states to help the United States secure the Strait of Hormuz, then assured that their help was not really needed after all, and finally announced that Washington "would hope to get some help" in detecting mines in the Gulf.
At the same time, US forces struck Iranian bunker-busting bombs near the Strait of Hormuz, which also carried 20% of the world's liquefied natural gas before the war.
Other NATO countries should do more to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt said, quoted by "Reuters".
She said reopening the key waterway would benefit NATO more than the United States.
"We pay these countries billions of dollars, and our troops on their soil serve as a deterrent for them. "And the president wants American taxpayers and our American military to be treated fairly," Leavitt said in an interview with "Fox News".
"Sometimes he thinks that's not the case with NATO. And he is right to point it out and he is right to call on them to engage and do more, especially when reopening the strait benefits them even more than the United States of America," she said.
The White House press secretary also noted that obtaining Iran's nuclear fuel was "an option on the table."
Leavitt assured that Trump has full confidence in Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.
She made her statement after a senior security official resigned over the war in Iran.
Joe Kent, who headed the National Counterterrorism Center and is the first senior Trump administration official to resign over the conflict, was not involved in any discussions about the Iran operation, Leavitt said.