- Donald Trump said countries should secure their own oil from the Strait, warning the US would no longer assist them
- Says allies must “come in and take care of” Strait of Hormuz
President Donald Trump expressed frustration Tuesday with allies who have been unwilling to do more to support the US war effort, telling them to “go get your own oil” as the conflict with Iran and its closure of the Strait of Hormuz sent average US gas prices past $4 a gallon and roiled global markets.
Trump also told CBS News Tuesday morning that he is not ready “quite yet” to remove U.S. assets as part of efforts to force Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, despite a Truth Social post suggesting allies need to do it themselves.
In a phone call, Mr. Trump reiterated his frustration that other countries, including the U.K., had not sent military assets to join the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran. But he said he isn’t pulling American forces out of the effort yet.
“At some point I will, not quite yet. But countries have to come in and take care of it. Iran has been decimated, but they’re going to have to come in and do their own work,” Mr. Trump said.
The president also reiterated his claim that, despite ongoing Iranian strikes on ships and Persian Gulf nations’ infrastructure, “there’s no real threat” in the Strait of Hormuz, a key transit route for 20% of the world’s oil supplies.
“I’ll be there, but if they’re having a hard time getting oil, let them come and take it like they’re supposed to. Let them come up and take it. They didn’t want to give a hand to anybody. NATO is terrible, and they’re all terrible. So if they want oil, come up and grab it. There’s no real threat, there’s no substantial threat because the country [Iran] has been decimated,” he said. “Let them come up and take it. It’s about time they did something for themselves.”
The President’s social media tirade came after US strikes hit a city that is home to one of Iran’s main nuclear sites, sending a massive fireball into the sky, and Tehran attacked a fully loaded Kuwaiti oil tanker in the Arabian Gulf.
The attacks showed the intensity of the war more than a month after the US and Israel launched their first strikes. The conflict has left more than 3,000 dead and caused major disruptions to the world’s supply of oil and natural gas.
Trump, who has vacillated between insisting there is progress in diplomatic talks with Iran and threatening to widen the war, had earlier shared footage of the attack on Isfahan. The central city is home to one of three nuclear enrichment sites attacked by the US in a 12-day war in June, and analysts believe much of Iran’s highly enriched uranium is likely stored there.
Trump lashes out at France for failing to support his war effort
In his social media posts, Trump expressed anger at allies that have not given him the support he wants.
He singled out France for not letting planes taking military supplies to Israel fly over French territory.
“France has been VERY UNHELPFUL,” he wrote, adding that “The USA. will REMEMBER!!!”
The French military has previously said France allowed the US Air Force to use the Istres base in southern France, because it had guarantees that only planes not involved in carrying out strikes would land there.
Italy has refused permission for US military assets to use the Sigonella air base in Sicily for an operation linked to the offensive in the Middle East, an official with knowledge of the matter said, confirming a local press report.
The denial was issued a few days ago and concerned American aircraft, including bombers, which were supposed to land at the base before continuing toward the Middle East, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
The Italian government later insisted that its relationship with the US is “solid and based on full and loyal cooperation.”
The war is roiling oil market
Iran’s stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway leading out of Arabian Gulf through which a fifth of the world’s oil is transported during peacetime, has driven up global oil prices, as have Tehran’s attacks on regional energy infrastructure. That has shaken stock markets around the world and pushed up the cost of many basic goods.
Spot prices of Brent crude, the international standard, hovered around $106 a barrel Tuesday, up more than 45 percent since the war started Feb. 28.
Trump warned this week that if a ceasefire is not reached “shortly,” and if the strait is not reopened, the US would broaden its offensive, including by attacking the Kharg Island oil export hub and possibly desalination plants.
Israel and the US launch a new wave of strikes on Iran
Israel and the US launched a wave of strikes on Iran, hitting Tehran in the early morning. Israel also said it had launched a new wave of strikes targeting what it described as Hezbollah infrastructure in Beirut.
The video shared by Trump appeared to show a massive attack on Isfahan, and NASA fire-tracking satellites suggest explosions happened in a mountainous region on the city’s southern edge. Iran has not confirmed the attack.
A satellite image taken just before the June war suggests Tehran transferred a truckload of highly enriched uranium to a nuclear facility about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from Tuesday’s strikes.
Analysts believe the truck — which the image showed going into a tunnel loaded with 18 blue containers — likely carried most or all of Iran’s stockpile of uranium enriched up to 60 percent purity. That’s a short, technical step from weapons-grade levels.
Iran hits oil tanker in waters off Dubai
An Iranian drone hit a Kuwaiti oil tanker in waters off the United Arab Emirates city of Dubai, sparking a blaze that was later put out, the Dubai Media Office said. Authorities said no oil spill resulted.
Four people were also wounded when debris from an intercepted drone fell into a residential area, and loud explosions could be heard later from another attack on Dubai.
Air raid sirens sounded in Bahrain, while Saudi Arabia said it intercepted three ballistic missiles launched toward its capital. Loud explosions were also heard in Israel not long after the military warned of an incoming missile barrage from Iran.
Written with reports from CBS News
