Washington, United States. President Donald Trump criticised some Western allies after several countries rejected his demand to send warships to escort oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz as Iran continued targeting oil facilities in the Gulf.
The U.S.-Israeli war on Iran entered its third week as the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for about 20% of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas, remained largely closed, raising energy prices and inflation concerns.
Allies decline to deploy ships
Several 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.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said in Berlin that Germany lacked the mandate required under the Basic Law from the United Nations, the European Union or NATO, and added that Washington and Israel had not consulted Germany before launching the war.
Trump expresses frustration
Speaking at a White House event in Washington, Trump said many countries had told him they were prepared to help but voiced frustration with some long-standing 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.”
Strikes continue across the region
Attacks by both sides continued early on Tuesday, with the Israeli military saying it was targeting “Iranian regime infrastructure” across Tehran as well as Hezbollah sites in Beirut, a day after saying it had drawn up detailed plans for at least three more weeks of war with Iran.
Iran launched overnight attacks on Israel, and also targeted the United Arab Emirates, where attacks forced the temporary closure of airspace and a drone hit an oil facility in Fujairah for a second consecutive day.
On Monday, Dubai International Airport was closed for several hours, oil loading operations in Fujairah were halted, and operations at the Shah gas field in Abu Dhabi were suspended following drone strikes.
How do you think the continuing disruption in the Strait of Hormuz will affect energy prices in the coming weeks?