The President of the United States, Donald Trump, assured that he feels vindicated after years of questioning the loyalty of the United States' Western alliances. “I always said that when we really needed them, they wouldn't be there,” the president categorically described.
On Monday, Trump said he is encouraging countries whose economies depend on the free flow of global trade to take an active role in maritime security. The president argued that the US military has already destroyed practically all of Iran's conventional military capacity and that now the Strait of Hormuz - through which a large part of the world's annual oil production circulates - requires an international patrol
effort.
The Republican magnate also emphasized the importance of allies providing minesweeping vessels to keep the Strait open. During the Cold War, that was one of the main naval capabilities of the British Royal Navy and one of its key contributions to the NATO alliance. Until recently, London maintained a small squad of minesweepers in Bahrain, a deployment
“I was very surprised by the United Kingdom. Two weeks ago I said to him: why don't they send some ships? And I really didn't want to! “, said the tenant of the White House
.
“I said to him: don't you want to? We are their oldest ally, we spend a lot of money on NATO to protect them. We're working with them in Ukraine... I think it's terrible. We asked them for two aircraft carriers, who have them, and they didn't want to,” Trump added
.
Trump also questioned Starmer's leadership style, whom he described as being overly dependent on bureaucracy. “He told me, 'I'm going to meet with my team to make a decision'. I told him: you don't need to meet with a team, you're the prime minister. You can decide on your own. Why do you need to meet with your team to decide if you're going to send some minesweepers? “, he said.
Starmer and his cabinet said Monday at a press conference that the United Kingdom will not be the first to act to patrol the Strait of Hormuz. As they indicated, they prefer that “as many countries as possible” be engaged before making any decision, and that for the time being they will not authorize any British military participation
. Trump seeks to reopen the Strait of Hormuz after annihilating the Iranian navy.
