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BumRushDaShow

(168,930 posts) Mon Mar 16, 2026, 08:24 AM 5 hrs ago

US Allies Wary of Joining Trump's Strait of Hormuz Mission

Source: Bloomberg

March 16, 2026 at 3:55 AM EDT
Updated on March 16, 2026 at 7:25 AM EDT

US allies deflected President Donald Trump’s demands to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, expressing unease about getting pulled into the war in Iran. In Brussels, European Union foreign ministers stressed that they did not want to escalate the war, treading cautiously about even redirecting an existing Red Sea naval mission to the vital passage for energy shipments. In Japan, officials said there were no plans to dispatch ships to escort stalled tankers. The UK similarly wouldn’t commit to a full naval mission.

“Of course, everyone is concerned about the situation in the Straits of Hormuz and the wider effect of this war on energy prices,” said UK Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden, speaking for the government on Monday. “But it’s also important to remember that we have not sought to be a protagonist in this war.” Luxembourg’s Foreign Minister Xavier Bettel was more blunt: “Blackmail is not what I wish for.”

The responses amounted to a rebuttal of Trump, who on Sunday insisted that his allies in NATO and Asia help get oil and gas shipments moving through the Strait of Hormuz, which has been effectively closed since the US and Israel attacked Iran. Roughly one fifth of the world’s oil moves through the narrow passage. The blockade has sent energy prices soaring, leaving governments worried about inflation, economic slowdowns and even food supply disruptions.

But on Monday, officials were also cautious about aiding Trump’s operations, which have prompted Tehran to spray missiles and drones across the region. “We must not do anything that adds even more tension or escalation,” Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said in Brussels. “What we need is for the bombings and the missile launches against all countries in the Middle East to stop, and for us to return to the negotiating table.”

Read more: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-03-16/eu-pushes-to-shift-naval-mission-to-protect-strait-of-hormuz?srnd=phx-politics

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The "obliterated" Houthis are waiting for them to move their fleets out of the Red Sea.

7 replies

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Highlight:

US Allies Wary of Joining Trump's Strait of Hormuz Mission (Original Post) BumRushDaShow 5 hrs ago OP

Trump can draw others in and walk away. Irish_Dem 5 hrs ago #1

They should shake him down for money like he does. How about that $12 billion he doc03 5 hrs ago #2

Do we even have allies? We used to. The way The livetohike 5 hrs ago #3

The Houthis are not obliterated gab13by13 4 hrs ago #4

I put "obliterated" in quotes BumRushDaShow 3 hrs ago #6

MaddowBlog-After alienating allies and declaring victory, Trump 'demands' foreign help in war LetMyPeopleVote 3 hrs ago #5

Sigh....foreign leaders are so much smarter than the guy we're stuck with Bayard 1 hr ago #7

Irish_Dem

(81,004 posts)

1. Trump can draw others in and walk away.

Reply to BumRushDaShow (Original post)

Mon Mar 16, 2026, 08:29 AM

5 hrs ago

Blame everyone else for the mess and let them do clean up.

Doesn't impact him in the least.

He is free to commit other crimes.

doc03

(39,049 posts)

2. They should shake him down for money like he does. How about that $12 billion he

Reply to BumRushDaShow (Original post)

Mon Mar 16, 2026, 08:30 AM

5 hrs ago

took for his Board of Peace.

livetohike

(24,226 posts)

3. Do we even have allies? We used to. The way The

Reply to BumRushDaShow (Original post)

Mon Mar 16, 2026, 08:46 AM

5 hrs ago

Felon treats our allies with contempt, name calling and threats I am surprised anyone bothers with him. He drags them all down.

gab13by13

(32,090 posts)

4. The Houthis are not obliterated

Reply to BumRushDaShow (Original post)

Mon Mar 16, 2026, 09:11 AM

4 hrs ago

They have not entered the war but they have stated that their fingers are on the trigger.

There is another strait, the Bab-el-Mandeb strait that links the Red Sea, effectively to the Indian Ocean, to the Mediterranean and further to the Atlantic and to the Suez canal.

The Houthis can cause havoc at the Bab-el-Mandeb strait and cause serious economic repercussions.

BumRushDaShow

(168,930 posts)

6. I put "obliterated" in quotes

Reply to gab13by13 (Reply #4)

Mon Mar 16, 2026, 11:00 AM

3 hrs ago

to denote what 45 "claimed", just like how he supposedly "obliterated" Iran's entire nuclear infrastructure and "obliterated" their island "Kharg".

LetMyPeopleVote

(178,994 posts)

5. MaddowBlog-After alienating allies and declaring victory, Trump 'demands' foreign help in war

Reply to BumRushDaShow (Original post)

Mon Mar 16, 2026, 10:53 AM

3 hrs ago

Foreign countries haven’t exactly rushed to answer the American president’s call for assistance. Imagine that.

So to sum up:
1. Trump alienates/insults allies
2. he launches an unnecessary war with no international legitimacy
3. he declares war â€œover,â€ dismisses need for alliesâ€™ help
4. he sees the war go sideways
5. he â€œdemandsâ€ allies help us solve a problem he said doesnâ€™t exist
www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...
— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2026-03-16T13:42:17.264Z

https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/after-alienating-allies-and-declaring-victory-trump-demands-foreign-help-in-war

During the first week of the war in Iran, multiple British news outlets reported that the HMS Prince of Wales aircraft carrier was preparing for possible deployment to the Middle East to assist the United States and Israel. Seven days into the conflict, however, Donald Trump, who has a habit of insulting and alienating our closest allies, used his social media platform to deliver a message to leaders in the U.K.: Don’t bother.

“The United Kingdom, our once Great Ally, maybe the Greatest of them all, is finally giving serious thought to sending two aircraft carriers to the Middle East,” the American president wrote. “That’s OK, Prime Minister Starmer, we don’t need them any longer — But we will remember. We don’t need people that join Wars after we’ve already won!”...

After claiming in an NBC News interview that unnamed countries had already committed to helping secure the strait — a dubious assertion, given the circumstances and available information — the Republican “demanded” that foreign nations step up and provide the U.S. with the kind of security assistance he recently said was unnecessary.

Trump on Strait of Hormuz: "Really, I'm demanding that these countries come in and protect their own territory, because it is their territory ... they should help us. You could make the case that maybe we shouldn't be there at all, because we don't need it. We have a lot of oil."
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2026-03-16T01:05:29.715Z

.....Indeed, the series of events seems preposterous. After spending the last year alienating U.S. allies, Trump launched an unnecessary war with no international legitimacy. He then prematurely declared victory, while simultaneously dismissing the need for international assistance, all while characterizing the Strait of Hormuz as a problem that’s already been solved.

It was at this point that the same American president, without explanation, turned on a dime and started demanding assistance from the same countries he’s insulted to address a problem he’s claimed doesn’t exist.

Foreign countries haven’t exactly rushed to answer Trump’s call for help, and Australian and Chinese officials have already rejected U.S. outreach. Imagine that.

Bayard

(29,466 posts)

7. Sigh....foreign leaders are so much smarter than the guy we're stuck with

Reply to BumRushDaShow (Original post)

Mon Mar 16, 2026, 12:37 PM

1 hr ago

And there is still Epstein. The beacon of evil.

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