It has been clear for some time that Iran believed its best bet to survive an attack by US and Israel was to close off the Strait of Hormuz and create economic pain for the entire world. President Trump has been working to counteract those efforts and attempting to keep the world’s supply of oil flowing.
As Ed noted this morning, Trump called on various nations in Europe to assist in that effort by creating a coalition of countries who could police the area and keep it safe from Iranian attacks. Press Secretary Leavitt echoed this call for help today.
Leavitt said Trump wants allies to “step up” and do more for the security of the Strait of Hormuz “because these other countries are benefiting greatly from the United States military taking out the threat of Iran.”
“These countries are absolutely benefiting from ensuring that Iran can never obtain a nuclear weapon,” Leavitt told reporters.
“So I think the president is absolutely right to call on these countries to do more to help the United States to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, so that we can stop this terrorist regime from restricting the free flow of energy, and the fact that they are doing so just underscores why President Trump needed to take this action in the first place,” she told reporters.
So far the response to this call for help has been mixed. Several European countries have said no.
“This is not our war; we did not start it,” Boris Pistorius, Germany’s defense minister, said Monday morning. He said Germany wants diplomatic solutions and “sending more warships to the region will likely not help achieve that.”
The French foreign ministry posted on social media that its navy was staying in the eastern Mediterranean: “Posture has not changed: defensive it is.”
Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain vowed at a news conference on Monday that his country “will not be drawn into the wider war” with Iran.
“My leadership is about standing firm for the British interest, no matter the pressure,” Mr. Starmer said without specifically referencing the president’s comments. He added that British officials were working with “all of our allies, including our European partners” on what could be done collectively to reopen the Strait.
Spain’s leftist government has also ruled it out.
Defence Minister Margarita Robles rejected a demand by U.S. President Donald Trump for military support to secure the waterway – which Tehran has de facto blocked to oil tanker traffic – and his threats of a “very bad future” for NATO allies failing to do so.
“Spain will never accept any stopgap measures, because the objective must be for the war to end, and for it to end now,” Robles said.
President Trump seemed to response to the countries who have refused his request for help by mocking them today during a press conference.
🚨 HOLY SMOKES. President Trump just EVISCERATED American “allies” refusing to help the US secure the Strait of Hormuz, openly MOCKS them
“Do you have any minesweepers? ‘Well, we’d rather NOT get involved, sir!’ I said, you mean for 40 YEARS we’re protecting YOU and you don’t… pic.twitter.com/PdzEt8hIT5
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) March 16, 2026
Trump also said that some countries have expressed a willingness to help and that some were already on the way. When asked which countries he declined to name them but said a list would be coming.
.@realDailyWire’s @MaryMargOlohan: “‘Numerous countries have told me they are on their way’ [to help the U.S. in the Strait of Hormuz]. Can you give us a hint what they are, what that entails, how soon they might be there?
President Trump: “You mean, who are the countries?”… pic.twitter.com/MntLQSGbCd
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) March 16, 2026
So far the response seems disappointing but not surprising. Europe has committed itself to helping Ukraine fight back against Russia but isn’t interested in joining a US fight with Russia’s anti-western partner Iran. Maybe some kind of deal could be worked out here where these European leaders help to keep the Strait open in exchange for some additional help from the US in Ukraine. I don’t know if President Trump would agree to that but it seems like a better answer for the Europeans to offer than a flat no.
Ultimately, China, Russia and Iran have been working together to undermine the west in various ways, including by making us dependent on their energy supplies. Unfortunately the western nations aren’t as good at coordinating their response to the world’s autocracies as the autocracies are at coordinating against the west.
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