Trump Urges European Allies and Arab Partners to Help Open the Strait of Hormuz, World on Alert

Washington — US President Donald Trump is seeking to persuade European allies and Arab world partners to join the United States in efforts to “open” the Strait of Hormuz, according to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Monday.

“The President has been speaking with our allies in Europe, and also many of our partners in the Gulf and the Arab world to encourage them to step up their efforts to open the Strait of Hormuz — and our NATO allies, in particular, to step up their efforts,” Leavitt told Fox News.

Trump has called on US allies to “do the right thing” to ensure the safety of Europe, the Middle East, and the entire world, Leavitt added.

Previously on 28 February, the US and Israel launched attacks against numerous targets in Iran, including Tehran, causing damage and civilian casualties. Iran retaliated by striking Israeli territory and US military facilities in the Middle East.

Escalation around the Iranian region has caused disruptions to traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a primary route for shipping oil and liquefied natural gas from Persian Gulf states to global markets, affecting regional oil exports and production.

Earlier, Trump on Sunday (15 March) threatened that NATO would face a “very bad” future if its allies failed to take action to help Washington keep the Strait of Hormuz open, according to reports from the Financial Times.

In a telephone interview with the British newspaper, Trump renewed pressure on European allies, urging them to join US operations related to the strait, a crucial global oil shipping route.

The US leader stated that Europe is a primary beneficiary of navigation through this route and should help ensure “nothing bad happens there”.

He also warned that NATO’s future would be “very bad” if his allies “did not respond” or gave a “negative response” to Washington’s requests.