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Trump threatens NATO allies over Strait of Hormuz help

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Special Series Middle East conflict Conflict in the Middle East has been escalating. These stories provide context for current developments and the history that led up to them. By NPR Staff A shirt is seen hanging Sunday amid the rubble in the Beryanak District in Tehran, Iran, after it was damaged by missile attacks two days before.
− Majid Saeedi/Getty Images hide caption With the Iran war entering a third week and the price of oil reaching nearly $105 a barrel on Monday, President Trump again urged NATO, China and other nations to help the U.S.
+ Altaf Qadri/AP hide caption With the Iran war entering a third week, Israel said it plans for at least three more weeks of war, while President Trump demanded other countries help the U.S.
secure the vital Strait of Hormuz.
− On Saturday, Trump had called on China, France, Japan, South Korea, the United Kingdom and others to send warships to the key shipping route, which Iran has been blocking since the war and where about a fifth of the world's oil supplies typically pass through.
+ And a second front in the war is heating up, with new Israeli ground operations in neighboring Lebanon.
− None of the countries have publicly committed to Trump's request — with some rejecting it outright — after the president upped the ante in an interview with the Financial Times late Sunday, saying their failure to do so would "be very bad for the future of NATO." Here are more updates on the situation in the Middle East.
+ Here are more updates on the situation in the Middle East.
− To jump to a specific coverage topic, click on the links below: Nations' response | Strikes across Middle East President Trump said he had asked seven countries to help escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz and said some had agreed, although he did not name them. He said it was in these countries' interests to help, including China, which is heavily reliant on the Strait of Hormuz for its oil supply.
+ To jump to a specific coverage topic, click on the links below: Responses to Trump strait demand | 3 more weeks in Iran | Lebanon war widens | Iran warns U.S.
− He also said the U.S.
+ industries President Trump on Monday continued to press other countries to join U.S.
− would "remember" if NATO counterparts didn't help.
+ efforts to secure a critical shipping route off the coast of Iran.
− But foreign nations have reacted cautiously to Trump's request. In his first term in office and since returning to the presidency, Trump has rattled NATO allies by expressing skepticism about the value of the postwar alliance, slamming them for what he says is low defense spending and threatening to pull the U.S. out.
+ Iran's ability to threaten slow-moving oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz has become a headache for the Trump administration as it creates a stranglehold on a passageway through which roughly 20% of the world's oil trade typically passes.
− EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Monday she had spoken to U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres about how to unblock the strait.
+ On Saturday, President Trump called on China, France, Japan, South Korea, the United Kingdom and others to send warships to the Strait of Hormuz.
− "It is in our interest to keep the Strait of Hormuz open and that's why we are also discussing what we can do in this regard from the European side," she said.
+ In an interview with the Financial Times, Trump warned that "it will be very bad for the future of NATO" if countries fail to police the strait.
+ "I'm demanding that these countries come in and protect their own territory, because it is their own territory," Trump said aboard Air Force One on Sunday. "Whether we get support or not, I can say this, and I said it to them: We will remember," he said. But foreign nations have reacted cautiously, with several outright rejecting Trump's request.
U.K.
− Prime Minister Keir Starmer rebuffed Trump's demands, telling reporters on Monday he's working with allies on a plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, but it won't be a NATO mission.
+ Prime Minister Keir Starmer rebuffed Trump's demands, telling reporters on Monday he is working with allies on a plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, but it won't be a NATO mission.
− He said the U.K.
+ "While taking the necessary action to defend ourselves and our allies, we will not be drawn into the wider war," he said. Most Britons oppose the war.
− "will not be drawn into the wider war." Starmer has given the U.S.
+ The British government says it has given the U.S.
− only limited access to British military bases, for what he calls defensive operations only.
+ access to its military bases only for what it calls "limited defensive action." Germany also sees no role for NATO in policing the strait. "As long as this war continues, there will be no involvement, not even in an option to keep the Strait of Hormuz open by military means," Stefan Kornelius, a spokesperson for German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, said in Berlin on Monday. "I would also like to remind you that the U.S.
− Most Britons oppose the war.
+ and Israel did not consult us before the war, and that Washington explicitly stated at the start of the war that European assistance was neither necessary nor desired," he added, according to Politico.
− Trump has reacted with personal insults against Starmer, who said however that "at every stage, I've stood by my principles." China has said only that keeping the Strait open is important for international trade, with the ministry of foreign affairs urging an end of hostilities.
+ "It's not our war, we didn't start it. We want diplomatic solutions and a swift end," German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said.
− The Chinese foreign ministry said it is communicating with all parties in the war, but it did not say specifically how it would help ease trade in the Strait of Hormuz.
+ Spain and Italy also said they would not send ships to the strait.
− President Trump is due to visit China at the end of the month, but has suggested the trip could be called off, depending on Beijing's decision on the deployment of warships.
+ "Italy is not at war with anyone and sending military ships in a war zone would mean entering the war," said Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini.
− But Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said the two sides are still communicating about the visit.
+ China called for an end to hostilities but would not say it would help secure the strait. "The recent tense situation in the Strait of Hormuz and waters nearby has impacted the route for international goods and energy trade, disrupting peace and stability in the region and beyond," China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Monday.
− Chinese and American officials are currently meeting in Paris to iron out the details.
+ He said China is in talks with the different parties in the war "to work for the deescalation of the situation." President Trump told the Financial Times he might delay his planned meeting later this month with Chinese President Xi Jinping. But Lin said the two sides are still communicating about the visit. Chinese and U.S. officials are currently meeting in Paris to iron out the details.
− South Korea said it was considering Trump's request, but Japan is bound by laws that strictly limit overseas military deployments.
+ South Korea's government said "adequate time for deliberation" is needed to consider Trump's request. Japan is bound by laws that strictly limit overseas military deployments.
Tokyo has suggested that operations in the Strait of Hormuz might not pass legal muster. "We have not made any decisions whatsoever about dispatching escort ships. We are continuing to examine ‌what Japan can do independently and what can be done within the legal framework," Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told parliament. But Trump's request will likely top the agenda when Takaichi visits the White House on Thursday.
− Australia said it has not been asked to contribute and will not be sending ships.
+ Australia said it has not been asked to join a naval coalition to secure the Strait of Hormuz and ruled out sending ships to do so.
− The Israel Defense Forces said Monday they had "begun limited and targeted ground operations against key Hezbollah strongholds in southern Lebanon, aimed at enhancing the forward defense area." There were also reports of heavy bombing in Tehran.
+ European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Monday she had spoken to U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres about how to unblock the strait.
− The Israeli military also said it had detected Iranian missile strikes toward Israel and urged people in affected areas to seek shelter.
+ "It is in our interest to keep the Strait of Hormuz open and that's why we are also discussing what we can do in this regard from the European side," she said.
− Meanwhile, Iran continues to target its Gulf neighbors, despite Iran's foreign minister denying Sunday that his country was targeting civilian infrastructure.
+ Speaking to reporters on Monday, President Trump said some countries have come forward to help secure the strait, but declined to say which ones.
− Dubai International Airport said a drone had hit a fuel tank on Monday, causing a fire.
+ Israel's military says there are still thousands of targets in Iran and that the war will last at least three more weeks. This comes as the timeline from Israel and the U.S.
− While no injuries were reported, the airport briefly suspended operations and Emirates airlines suspended flights.
+ has kept changing since they began launching strikes on Iran on Feb. 28.
− Saudi Arabia also said it had come under attack by dozens of drones, which it had downed.
+ The Israeli-U.S. assault killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei along with more than 1,300 other Iranians, according to a death toll that Iran's ambassador to the United Nations cited early last week. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Iran's new supreme leader, the late ayatollah's son Mojtaba Khamenei, was injured.
− The humanitarian toll of the conflict has continued to rise.
+ As many as 3.2 million people in Iran have been displaced by the fighting, according to the U.N.
− So far, 13 U.S.
+ refugee agency. The Israeli military says its strikes have taken more than 70% Iran's ballistic missile launchers out of operation, but Iran is still firing missiles daily toward Israel and other countries in the region. Israel is also still working to degrade Iran's nuclear program, but questions remain about whether Iran will still possess highly enriched uranium.
− service members and at least 12 Israeli civilians have died.
+ Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told CBS News on Sunday Iran's nuclear material was buried under the rubble of the last Israeli-U.S.
− More than 1,200 Iranian civilians have been killed and up to 3.2 million temporarily displaced.
+ war against Iran in June 2025. Iran has retaliated by firing missiles and drones toward Israel and countries around the Middle East, and putting a virtual chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz. Twelve people have been killed in Israel, according to Israeli authorities, and a number of Gulf countries have reported several deaths. Middle East conflict These are the casualties and cost of the war in Iran 2 weeks into the conflict In his CBS interview, Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi said, "We are ready to defend ourselves as long as it takes." He denied Iran was attacking civilian sites in neighboring Gulf states.
− In Lebanon, more than 800 people have been killed and more than 800,000 displaced.
+ He insisted his country was targeting assets, installations and military bases used by the U.S.
− Emily Feng contributed to this report from Istanbul, Lauren Frayer in London, Jennifer Pak in Shanghai, and Kate Bartlett.
+ Countries including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have reported Iranian attacks. Turkey, a NATO member that borders Iran, has said NATO defenses have intercepted three Iranian missiles headed its way so far.
+ On Monday, the UAE's Dubai International Airport said a drone had hit a fuel tank, causing a fire. While no injuries were reported, the airport briefly suspended operations and Emirates airlines suspended flights. Saudi Arabia also said it came under attack by dozens of drones, which it intercepted. A second major front in the war is heating up — in Lebanon. The Israeli military said Monday its troops "have begun limited and targeted ground operations" in southern Lebanon against strongholds of the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. Hezbollah started firing rockets at northern Israel on March 2, and Israel says the militant group has been trying to expand its attacks. Israel has also carried out strikes in southern Lebanon and around its capital of Beirut and issued sweeping evacuation notices to the population. Israel's assault in Lebanon has killed 886 people and displaced more than 1 million others, according to the Lebanese government's disaster management office. Lebanon's government is seeking diplomatic talks with Israel to end the fighting and international help to disarm Hezbollah. Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard warned it will strike industries across the region that are associated with the United States. The group urged workers to evacuate and civilians to avoid areas near production facilities. The message was first reported by Iran's Tasnim News Agency, which is associated with the Revolutionary Guard. Last week, the news agency published a list of major U.S. companies in a social media post that included Amazon, Microsoft and Palantir. The Revolutionary Guard's threat came soon after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called on neighboring countries that host U.S. forces to clarify their positions on the war, accusing certain countries of "actively encouraging this slaughter." Daniel Estrin contributed to this report from Tel Aviv, Israel, Emily Feng from Istanbul, Lauren Frayer from London, Jennifer Pak from Shanghai, Arezou Rezvani from Irbil, Kurdistan region of Iraq, Kate Bartlett from Johannesburg and Jawad Rizkallah from Beirut. A previous version of this story incorrectly cited a United Nations estimate of displaced people in Iran as up to 3.2 billion. It was 3.2 million.
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