The crisis related to the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz that lasted several months was provoked precisely by US President Donald Trump, said German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, quoted by AFP.
"Ultimately, it was not us, but Donald Trump who caused the congestion in the "bottleneck" of the Strait of Hormuz. "And we now have an interest in the strait being reopened," the German politician pointed out.
Pistorius stressed that European countries need to normalize the situation in the Strait of Hormuz, "as this is necessary to ensure our energy supplies and to restore the economy."
At the end of February, Trump launched a joint military operation against Iran with Israel. In response, Iran, among other things, closed the strait.
The Pentagon has spent about $40 billion on military operations against Iran, according to a study by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), which will be published soon.
As CSIS senior advisor Mark Kansian told CNN, these costs include the cost of ammunition, destroyed equipment and damage to US bases, but do not include operating costs, which have already been accounted for in the department's budget for fiscal year 2026.
Although the US Department of Defense has borne the brunt of the costs, the conflict has cost other departments, such as the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Veterans Affairs, $1 billion, according to CSIS data.
In May, the Pentagon told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the cost of military operations reached $29 billion, including the cost of necessary repairs, replenishment and replacement of equipment, as well as general operating costs.
Meanwhile, gasoline prices in the United States have risen from an average of less than $3 per gallon (3.78 liters) to more than $4 during the hostilities.
It is noted that oil from the Middle East has not been supplied for almost four months. Overall, according to data from the analytical company Kpler, the world was left without 1.15 billion barrels of oil during the conflict.
According to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, annual inflation in the United States exceeded 4% for the first time in three years, which is due to the growth in energy prices. Currently, prices in the United States are growing faster than the average American salary.