(Dave DeCamp, Antiwar.com) President Donald Trump on Tuesday criticized the US’s NATO allies, saying they were “making a very foolish mistake” for not entering the US-Israeli war against Iran, as his calls for other countries to send warships to open the Strait of Hormuz have been rejected.
“NATO is making a very foolish mistake. I’ve long said whether or not they’d be there for us, and this was a great test,” the president told reporters.
Earlier in the day, Trump said in a post on Truth Social that he had been “informed by most of our NATO ‘Allies’ that they don’t want to get involved with our Military Operation against the Terrorist Regime of Iran, in the Middle East.”
While lamenting NATO’s unwillingness to join the war, the president insisted he doesn’t need them or any of the US allies in the Asia Pacific, claiming that the US-Israeli bombing campaign has “decimated” Iran’s military.
“Because of the fact that we have had such Military Success, we no longer ‘need,’ or desire, the NATO Countries’ assistance — WE NEVER DID! Likewise, Japan, Australia, or South Korea,” Trump said.
“In fact, speaking as President of the United States of America, by far the Most Powerful Country Anywhere in the World, WE DO NOT NEED THE HELP OF ANYONE! Thank you for your attention to this matter,” he added.
The Strait of Hormuz remains closed to virtually all ships except for a few that have made the transit with Iran’s permission. Oil prices jumped on Tuesday when a senior Iranian official said the strait would remain closed, and gas prices in the US continue to rise, with the nationwide average of gas in the US rising to $3.79 per gallon, a nearly 30% increase since March 1.
This article originally appeared at Antiwar.com.
