Trump Says He's Disappointed With US Allies Over Lack Of 'Enthusiasm' For Securing Hormuz

Last Updated:March 17, 2026, 02:16 IST

Trump criticised the lukewarm response to his call for world powers to send warships to escort tankers through the Strait of Hormuz.

US President Donald Trump on Monday expressed disappointment with American allies over his efforts to secure the strategic Strait of Hormuz, which remains closed amid the war, driving up oil prices by up to 40-50%.

During a briefing at the White House, Trump criticised the lukewarm response to his call for world powers to send warships to escort tankers through the strait, which normally carries a fifth of global crude oil. His remarks came as several US allies appeared reluctant to join his mission.

“Numerous countries have told me they’re on the way. Some are very enthusiastic about it, and some aren’t," he said. “Some are countries that we’ve helped for many, many years. We’ve protected them from horrible outside sources, and they weren’t that enthusiastic. And the level of enthusiasm, it matters to me."

Trump said he thought Britain and France would get involved, but only reluctantly. Talking about French President Emmanuel Macron, Trump said, “I think he’s going to help, I’ll let you know."

US Allies Reluctant On Trump’s Hormuz Plan

Trump’s remarks came as NATO allies and other Western nations pushed back earlier on Trump’s call to secure the Strait of Hormuz. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said London was working with allies to craft a “viable" plan to reopen the strait, but ruled out a NATO mission.

Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s spokesman Stefan Kornelius said on Monday in Berlin that the ongoing US-Israel war on Iran has “nothing to do with NATO" and is not NATO’s war, drawing a clear line on how far Germany and the alliance intend to go in the conflict.

ALSO READ: Germany: Iran War ‘Has Nothing To Do With NATO,’ Says Merz’s Spokesman

Japan, Australia, Poland, Spain, Greece and Sweden also all distanced themselves from any military involvement in the Strait of Hormuz. EU’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas said the bloc’s foreign ministers discussed the war in Brussels on Monday but showed “no appetite" for extending their Red Sea naval mission to help reopen Hormuz.

Trump told the Financial Times on Sunday that it would be “very bad for the future of NATO" if they refused to help, and he has threatened to delay a planned summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

Meanwhile, Trump said more than 30 mine laying ships of Iran have been destroyed which has affected Tehran’s capacity to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. “We are hammering their capacity to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz with more than 30 mine laying ships destroyed. We hit to the best of our knowledge, all of their mine laying ships. Now they can put them on other types of ships," he said.

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