THE NEW YORK TIMES: Germany and other nations rejected President Trump’s call for warships to reopen the vital oil route. The Israeli military escalated ground attacks against Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon. Trump is expected to speak soon.
American allies around the world have responded coolly to — or outright rebuffed — President Trump’s call to send warships to escort merchant vessels in and out of the Persian Gulf, illustrating the consequences of his dismissive approach to global alliances.
The sharpest refusal came Monday from Germany, whose defense minister, Boris Pistorius, said, “This is not our war; we did not start it.” Top officials of Japan, Italy and Australia said Monday that their countries would not participate in efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Others were noncommittal, including France, South Korea and Britain, whose prime minister, Keir Starmer, said his country would not be “drawn into wider war.”
Mr. Trump’s call on social media on Saturday for other nations to join the United States in an escort effort came just a week ago, he turned down Mr. Starmer’s offer to send two British aircraft carriers to the region. “We don’t need people that join Wars after we’ve already won!” Mr. Trump said at the time.
As Iran blockades most traffic through the oil shipping choke point, Mr. Trump’s appeal was the first time he had sounded eager to build a broad coalition against Iran. But he was asking for backup from allies who were not consulted ahead of the U.S.-Israeli decision to go to war, and who were derided by Mr. Trump in the past.
The American-Israeli air war against Iran, now in its third week, has killed more than 2,000 people, mostly in Iran and Lebanon, and has drawn in much of the Middle East, as Iran has launched rockets and drones at neighboring countries and at ships in the Gulf. Global energy prices have skyrocketed with tanker traffic all but stopped through the Strait of Hormuz, a conduit for around a fifth of the world’s oil shipments. The price of Brent crude, the global benchmark for oil, briefly reached $106 on Monday.
The United States appears to have been unprepared for the extent of that retaliation and the need to escort ships through the strait — something that administration officials have discussed publicly since the first week of the war, but has not yet begun.
Mr. Trump said NATO member nations should help, and told The Financial Times on Sunday, “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 called on China to send naval escorts, too, but Beijing has little incentive to cooperate; Iran, which sells oil to China, is letting its ships pass safely. Mr. Trump has threatened to postpone a planned summit meeting with Xi Jinping, China’s leader, as he focuses on the war. Iran War Live Updates » | David E. Sanger, Christopher F. Schuetze, Megan Specia and Aaron Boxerman | Monday, March 16, 2026
Goldilocks started this war, so let Goldilocks finish it! — © Mark Alexander
