The UK has finally approved the use of its bases for the US to launch strikes on Iranian sites targeting the Strait of Hormuz.
The UK’s decision on the bases has been a “very late response”, Donald Trump says, after he previously called Nato allies “cowards”, for being reluctant to help open the vital shipping lane which transports around 20% of the world’s oil
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi rebuked the move, saying, “Mr Starmer is putting British lives in danger by allowing UK bases to be used for aggression against Iran. Iran will exercise its right to self-defence”
President Donald Trump lashed out at America’s NATO allies again on Friday, raging at their refusal to join the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran and help reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
“Without the U.S.A., NATO IS A PAPER TIGER!” the U.S. leader wrote on his Truth Social site, accusing allies of first sitting out the fight against a “Nuclear Powered Iran,” and then “complain[ing] about the high oil prices they are forced to pay.” The solution would be to open the Strait of Hormuz, Trump wrote, “a simple military maneuver … with so little risk,” but allies “don’t want to help.”
“COWARDS,” he concluded. “[W]e will REMEMBER!”
The outburst came following Thursday’s European Council, where national leaders struck a cautious tone in emphasizing de-escalation and resisting involvement in a conflict with no apparent end in sight. Spain’s PM Pedro Sánchez even described the war as illegal — underscoring the size of the breach with Washington.
Since the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Tehran on Feb. 28, France, Germany, Italy and the U.K. have resisted sending warships to the Gulf. On Thursday they backed a joint statement with partners Japan and Canada supporting “appropriate efforts” to ensure safe passage through Hormuz — but only once the fighting stops, as German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stressed.
French President Emmanuel Macron is sounding out allies on a potential U.N.-backed framework to secure shipping, while NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said he remains “confident” that the allies will find a way to restore traffic through the chokepoint.
Trump’s attack follows days of mounting pressure on Washington, both military and economic.
Earlier this week he warned NATO allies that they face a “very bad future” if they fail to help open the Strait of Hormuz, and in January mocked allies for allegedly shying away from the toughest fighting over a decade ago in their joint mission in Afghanistan.
“They’ll say they sent some troops to Afghanistan,” Trump told Fox news on Jan. 22. “And they did, they stayed a little back, a little off the front lines.”
At the time, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the remarks “insulting and, frankly, appalling.”
Energy fears have kept oil prices high, hovering around $109 a barrel; the head of the International Energy Agency tells the BBC the world faces the “greatest global energy security challenge in history”
