President Trump on Sunday warned NATO faces a “very bad” future if the US allies fail to help reopen the crucial Strait of Hormuz, as oil prices soar during the Iran war.
Trump said in an interview with the Financial Times that European nations and other global powers that rely on Gulf oil should join a US-led effort to secure the waterway — where roughly a fifth of the world’s oil supply normally flows.
“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 outlet, arguing that Europe and China are more heavily dependent on oil from the region than the US.
“If there’s no response or if it’s a negative response I think it will be very bad for the future of NATO.”
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The president also said he could delay his summit with China’s President Xi Jinping later this month as he presses Beijing to help unblock the Strait.
Iran said on Saturday that all countries — other than the US and Israel — may pass through the waterway, in a desperate attempt at coalition-busting less than a day after America bombed military targets on Iran’s oil-critical Kharg Island.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.