Donald Trump issues chilling warning to NATO allies over Iran conflict

President Trump warned on Sunday that NATO could face a “very bad” future if US allies do not step up to help reopen the key Strait of Hormuz, amid surging oil prices during the ongoing fighting with Iran.

The controversial U.S. leader, who launched airstrikes against the Middle Eastern country last month, revealed in an interview with the Financial Times that European countries and other major powers that depend on Gulf crude oil should take part in a US‑led operation to secure the waterway, through which around one‑fifth of the world’s oil normally passes.

What has Trump warned?

“It’s only appropriate that people who are the beneficiaries of the Strait will help to make sure that nothing bad happens there,” Trump told the British newspaper, arguing that Europe and China are more reliant on the region’s oil than the US.

He added: “If there’s no response or if it’s a negative response I think it will be very bad for the future of NATO.” The president also indicated he might push back his planned summit with China’s President Xi Jinping later this month as he seeks to pressure Beijing to help reopen the strait.

“I think China should help too because China gets 90 percent of its oil from the Straits [sic],” Trump added.

On the timing of the Xi meeting, he said: “We’d like to know before that. It’s [two weeks is] a long time … We may delay,” without specifying how long any delay could last.

On Saturday, Iranian leaders announced that every country except the US and Israel would be allowed to transit the Strait of Hormuz, in what appeared to be a bid to undermine any international coalition.

This news came shortly after American forces neutralized military targets on the strategically vital, oil‑focused Kharg Island. By Sunday, global oil prices had climbed to about $106 per barrel, a rise of roughly 45% since the Middle East conflict intensified.

Trump calls on allies

Trump argued that the 32‑member North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) should contribute military assets, from minesweeping vessels to units capable of negating “bad actors” along Iran’s shoreline.

“We have a thing called NATO,” he told the Financial Times. “We’ve been very sweet. We didn’t have to help them with Ukraine. Ukraine is thousands of miles away from us … But we helped them. Now we’ll see if they help us,” he continued. “Because I’ve long said that we’ll be there for them, but they won’t be there for us. And I’m not sure that they’d be there.”

He also voiced anger at the UK after speaking with British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer earlier on Sunday, according to the same account. “The UK might be considered the number one ally, the longest-serving, etc., and when I asked for them to come, they didn’t want to come,” Trump said. “And as soon as we basically wiped out the danger capacity from Iran, they said, ‘Oh well, we’ll send two ships,’ and I said, ‘We need these ships before we win, not after we win,’” he added.

“I’ve long said that NATO is a one-way street,” Trump said, claiming that Iran’s military strength had been largely “decimated” over the previous two weeks of fighting and would pose little threat to European forces moving into the Gulf. The recent escalation has already seen casualties, including a French soldier killed in an Iranian drone strike in Iraq on Thursday.

Trump further suggested that the United States is ready to carry out additional attacks that could hit oil installations on Kharg Island, the main loading point for much of Iran’s oil exports. “You saw we hit Kharg Island, everything but the pipes yesterday,” he said, referring to the total “obliteration” of military targets on the island, which lies about 16 miles off the Iranian coast. “We can hit that in five minutes. And there’s not a thing they can do about it,” he said.

Featured Image. Credit: Mike Stobe / Getty