Trump says U.S. needs no allied support to reopen Strait of Hormuz

President Donald Trump declared Tuesday that the United States no longer needs or wants support from NATO countries, Australia, Japan, or South Korea after they declined to participate in a coalition to secure the Strait of Hormuz, which has been blocked amid conflict with Iran.

"As president of the United States of America, the country most powerful in the world, we do not need anyone's help," Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

The statement came after the European Union distanced itself Monday from Trump's plan to escort ships through the strait with military vessels. On Tuesday, French President Emmanuel Macron said France would not participate in operations "in the current context."

"We are not part of the conflict in the Iran war, and therefore France will never participate in operations to open or free the Strait of Hormuz in the current context," Macron said in a statement following a council meeting.

Trump had criticized the lack of "enthusiasm" from international allies regarding what he characterized as a "minor" military mission in the strait on Monday. Speaking from the White House, he pressed the case for international partners to participate in a military deployment to unblock the waterway, which has faced Iranian attacks on maritime transit in retaliation for U.S. and Israeli operations against Iran.

Trump emphasized that the United States obtains less than 1 percent of its oil from the strait, while other nations depend on it far more heavily. He noted that Japan obtains 95 percent of its oil through the waterway, according to his remarks.

Trump reiterated criticism of NATO partners, stating that the U.S. military has protected them "for 40 years" and questioned why they would not participate in the proposed operation when their economies depend more heavily on the strait than America's does.