President Donald Trump has demanded that NATO nations help stop Iran blocking the Strait of Hormuz, warning it would be ”very bad” for the alliance’s future if they didn’t.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Trump said that he could also delay his summit with China’s President Xi Jinping in his push to unblock the critical waterway which Tehran has in effect shut, following U.S. and Israeli strikes, sparking fears of an oil shock.
“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 newspaper.
When asked what help was needed, Trump replied, “whatever it takes” adding that allies should send minesweepers.
What To Know On Day 17:
- The price of Brent crude oil was trading at $105 a barrel early Monday after the conflict caused the price to spike
- Trump told reporters he was speaking to “about seven” countries about policing the Strait of Hormuz
- IDF said troops had begun “limited and targeted ground operations” against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon
- Saudi Arabia and UAE were among those to report drone attacks on Monday
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Mar 16, 2026 at 04:41 AM EDT
Trump warns NATO must help open Strait of Hormuz or face “bad future”
President Donald Trump has called on NATO allies to help open the Strait of Hormuz, warning of bad consequences for the alliance if it didn’t.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Trump said that Europe and China were dependent on the oil that transist the strait which has been effectively blocked by Tehran.
He said that this meant was “only appropriate that people who are the beneficiaries of the Strait will help to make sure that nothing bad happens there.”
Trump’s comments follow an appeal to China, France, Japan, South Korea and the UK to join a “team effort” to open up the strait through which one fifth of the world’s oil passes.
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