Several U.S. allies rebuffed Donald Trump’s call on Monday to send warships to escort oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, drawing criticism from the U.S. president, who accused Western partners of ingratitude after decades of support.
The U.S.-Israeli war with Iran is now in its third week, with no end in sight.
The critical Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20% of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas flows, remains largely closed, raising energy prices and fears of inflation.
The conflict has already imposed economic costs on U.S. allies, who were not consulted before the airstrikes on Iran and who have endured months of harsh criticism and bellicose threats from Trump since he returned to office.
A number of U.S. partners, including Germany, Spain and Italy, said they had no immediate plans to send ships to help reopen the strategic waterway, which Iran has effectively shut using drones and naval mines.
“We lack the mandate from the United Nations, the European Union or NATO required under the Basic Law,” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said in Berlin, adding that Washington and Israel had not consulted Germany before launching the war.
In a joint statement, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Britain warned that any “significant Israeli ground offensive would have devastating humanitarian consequences and could lead to a protracted conflict,” and said such an operation “must be averted.”
Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump, speaking at a White House event in Washington, said many countries had told him they were prepared to help, but voiced frustration with some longstanding allies.
“Some are very enthusiastic about it, and some aren’t,” he said, without offering specifics.
“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 matters to me.”
Israel said on Monday that it had drawn up detailed plans for at least three more weeks of war as it pounded sites across Iran overnight, while Iranian drone attacks temporarily shut Dubai Airport and struck a key oil facility in the United Arab Emirates.
Israel said it aims to weaken Iran’s capacity to threaten it by striking ballistic missile infrastructure, nuclear facilities and the security apparatus, adding that it still has thousands of targets to hit.
“We want to make sure that this regime is as weak as possible and that we degrade all its capabilities — all parts and all wings of its security establishment,” Israeli military spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani said.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it would target U.S. industrial facilities in the Middle East and urged people living near U.S.-owned plants to leave.
Iran also responded to Trump’s threat that he might attack oil facilities on Kharg Island, the country’s main oil hub, if Tehran does not reopen the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. forces destroyed military targets on Kharg on Friday.
A spokesperson for Iran’s armed forces, Abolfazl Shekarchi, said Iran would target oil and gas facilities in any country from which U.S. attacks were launched on Kharg Island.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Tehran had not asked for a ceasefire or exchanged messages with the U.S., according to Iran’s semi-official Student News Network.
In a post on X, Araqchi also said some “neighbouring states” that host U.S. forces and permit attacks on Iran were actively encouraging the killing of Iranians.
He said 200 children were among the hundreds of Iranian civilians killed in U.S. or Israeli bombings.
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