Washington: US President Donald Trump has said the United States does not require military assistance from European allies to safeguard navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, while stressing that the strategic waterway would reopen and remain secure.
The comments came as Trump on Thursday discussed Iran, maritime security and global energy supplies during an extended question-and-answer session at the White House.
Asked whether he still wanted European allies to help secure the Strait of Hormuz, Trump responded bluntly.
“We don’t need their help,” he said. “We’re the most powerful military in the world.”
The President said Washington had offered allies an opportunity to participate but claimed they declined.
“We gave them a chance to help,” Trump said. “We went to the NATO countries. We went to others, too.”
“I said, hey, if you’d like to help, it would be wonderful, and they all turned us down,” he added.
Trump argued that the decision could ultimately prove costly for countries that depend heavily on Gulf energy supplies.
“It’s going to be an expensive proposition for them because they shouldn’t have done that,” he said.
While insisting that the United States has sufficient domestic energy resources, Trump said many other countries remain dependent on uninterrupted shipping through the Gulf.
“We have much more than we need in terms of oil and energy generally,” he said. “But European countries and other countries, they need it tremendous.”
Trump also linked the future of the Strait of Hormuz to ongoing negotiations with Iran.
“The main parts of the deal are they can’t have a nuclear weapon,” he said. “The strait will open immediately.”
Later, he said US forces had already taken steps to improve maritime security in the region.
“We’ve largely swept for mines,” Trump said. “We have the most sophisticated minesweepers.”
The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most important energy chokepoints, connecting the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. A significant portion of globally traded crude oil and liquefied natural gas passes through the narrow waterway each day.
(IANS)
