Trump warns: “Bad for NATO’s future”

Felix Wilow

Published 09.36

            

           Donald Trump warns NATO after being rebuffed for his cry for help. Photo: Jose Luis Magana/AP

Trump has called for help in the Strait of Hormuz.

So far, no one has responded – and now he is warning his NATO allies.

At the same time, American ships have reportedly been sent away.

Iran's Iran’s closure of the strategic Strait Hormuz has hit the world’s oil transport hard. Since the Israeli and US war on Iran broke out, traffic has come to a standstill. France and Germany have rebuffed Donald Trump's call to send warships there – which the president does not appreciate.

– If there is no response, or if it is a negative response, I think it will be very bad for NATO''s future, he tells the Financial Times.

Over the past two weeks, the price of oil has risen by about 45 percent. The international price per barrel of oil exceeded the equivalent of 1,000 kronor on Sunday evening – and has created concern for the global economy.

Donald Trump has also pressured China and Japan to send help.

– It is only right and reasonable that those who benefit from the strait contribute to ensuring that nothing bad happens there, says Trump.

“We have been very kind”

Trump also harshly criticizes the other NATO countries – which he does not believe are helping as much as the United States.

– We have been very kind. We did not have to help them with Ukraine. Ukraine is thousands of miles away from us... But we helped them. Now we will see if they help us. Because I have long said that we will be there for them, but that they will not be there for us.

Despite his appeal, two significant ships from the US Navy are reported to have been sent from there. The USS Tulsa and USS Santa Barbara have arrived at a port in Malaysia after being deployed to Bahrain. The ships are expected to be in the Persian Gulf until at least January 30 and February 9, respectively.

It is not currently known whether any other ships are headed to the Middle East, according to news site The War Zone, TWZ.

TWZ has reached out to both the US military’s Middle East Command (Centcom) and the US Navy for comment.