In an interview with the Financial Times, President Trump warned that NATO has a “very bad” future if U.S. allies do not assist in opening the Strait of Hormuz.
“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 outlet.
“If there’s no response or if it’s a negative response I think it will be very bad for the future of NATO,” he added.
Trump is also pressing China to help open the strait and may delay his summit with Xi Jinping later this month, the outlet noted.
JUST IN: 🇺🇸 President Trump says NATO faces a “very bad future” if allies don’t help US against Iran, FT reports. pic.twitter.com/K8kXrmL0yR
— BRICS News (@BRICSinfo) March 15, 2026
More from the New York Post:
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.
International oil prices surged to roughly $106 a barrel on Sunday — skyrocketing by about 45% since the conflict in the Middle East escalated.
Trump said the 32-member North Atlantic Treaty Organization should provide military support, ranging from minesweepers to forces that could knock out “bad actors” along the Iranian shore.
“We have a thing called NATO,” he told the Financial Times. “We’ve been very sweet. We didn’t have to help them with Ukraine. Ukraine is thousands of miles away from us . . . But we helped them.
Trump said he expected China to help open the strait before he makes his scheduled trip to Beijing.
“I think China should help too because China gets 90 percent of its oil from the Straits [sic],” Trump told the Financial Times.
“We’d like to know before that. It’s [two weeks is] a long time,” he continued.
Trump added “we may delay” the scheduled trip.
“While taking the necessary action to defend ourselves and our allies, we will not be drawn into the wider war,” United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Monday.
“I want to see an end to this war as quickly as possible,” he added.
Footage below:
“While taking the necessary action to defend ourselves and our allies, we will not be drawn into the wider war,” PM Keir Starmer says
“I want to see an end to this war as quickly as possible,” the prime minister adds
Follow live: https://t.co/zwDEUJT5k3 pic.twitter.com/BlrR2CxjcB
— BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) March 16, 2026
“Many Countries, especially those who are affected by Iran’s attempted closure of the Hormuz Strait, will be sending War Ships, in conjunction with the United States of America, to keep the Strait open and safe. We have already destroyed 100% of Iran’s Military capability, but it’s easy for them to send a drone or two, drop a mine, or deliver a close range missile somewhere along, or in, this Waterway, no matter how badly defeated they are,” Trump said on Saturday.
“Hopefully China, France, Japan, South Korea, the UK, and others, that are affected by this artificial constraint, will send Ships to the area so that the Hormuz Strait will no longer be a threat by a Nation that has been totally decapitated. In the meantime, the United States will be bombing the h*** out of the shoreline, and continually shooting Iranian Boats and Ships out of the water. One way or the other, we will soon get the Hormuz Strait OPEN, SAFE, and FREE!” he added.
The Independent shared further:
The chief executives of Exxon, Chevron and Conocophillips have told the White House that disruption through the Strait of Hormuz will continue to wreak havoc on global energy markets, reports the Wall Street Journal.
Over 400 million barrels of oil from the International Energy Agency’s emergency reserves are set to be released in a bid to counter a significant surge in crude prices since the onset of the Iran war.
Meanwhile, Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi has denied claims that Iran requested negotiations or a ceasefire and says the country will “fight as long as it takes”.
President Trump had claimed Iran requested a ceasefire but said he was not ready to make a deal with the country because “the terms aren’t good enough yet”.