Trump is vainly pressuring his allies to involve them in the war on Iran
With a gesture that many interpret as an unmistakable signal of Washington’s weakness due to the terrible progress of the war against Iran, Donald Trump has been pressing European and Asian allies for three days to contribute warships to a military operation aimed at keeping the Strait of Hormuz open. The most important waterway in the world for the traffic of oil and liquid gas is kept blocked by Iran which only allows ships from nations that are not hostile to Tehran and which have entered into transit agreements with the Pasdaran.
At least six ships have been hit and set on fire by Iranian forces so far, with around a thousand blocked inside the Persian Gulf. In two weeks of war the United States hit “more than 7,000 targets in Iran, with the help of Israel”, Donald Trump said yesterday, adding that “we are doing what should have been done many years ago. Iran has been literally annihilated, their army is gone, the radars have been destroyed and the leadership is destroyed.”
Words that are not actually reflected in the facts: certainly the damage suffered by the Islamic Republic is serious but the government holds and the Pasdaran continue to strike Israel and American bases in the Arab nations of the region, but above all they are able to control the Strait of Hormuz and threaten naval traffic. Trump himself admitted yesterday that “Iran uses the Strait of Hormuz as a weapon.” On March 13, Trump launched an appeal to allies for a naval intervention in the Strait of Hormuz, assessing that other countries, together with the United States, “must take care” of guaranteeing its security. «Many countries, especially those affected by the Iranian attempt to close the Strait of Hormuz, will send warships, in collaboration with the United States, to keep the Strait open and secure».
The president expressed the hope that “China, France, Japan, South Korea, the United Kingdom and others will send ships to the area so that the Strait of Hormuz no longer poses a threat from a nation that has been completely decapitated.” «The United States of America has defeated and completely annihilated Iran, both militarily, economically and in every other respect, but the countries of the world that obtain their oil supplies through the Strait of Hormuz must guarantee the safety of this passage. And we will help them,” Trump wrote on the Truth social network.
An appeal which has so far fallen on deaf ears but which has been responded to by the Iranian authorities. On March 15, Iranian General Ali Abdollahi said that the country’s armed forces are ready to use every tool of geopolitical pressure, including control of traffic through the strategic Strait of Hormuz, to put pressure on the United States and Israel. Abdollahi, commander of Iran’s central headquarters Khatam al-Anbiya, said the armed forces were determined to use the waterway to bring the “aggressors” to their knees, adding that Iran had already dealt “hard blows” to its enemies.
Abdollahi stressed that Iran did not start the war but will bring about its end, insisting that the United States and Israel ultimately “have no choice but to surrender” in the face of what he called Iran’s military might.
On the same day, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi declared that «this war will end when we are certain that it will not happen again and that reparations will be paid. We experienced it last year: Israel attacked, then the United States regrouped and attacked us again.”
Moreover, it is the US Navy itself that has so far avoided escorting merchant ships and oil tankers in transit from Hormuz, whose commanders were urged by Trump to “pull out their balls” and try to cross the strait despite the threat from Tehran. As the Wall Street Journal reported, citing US and Gulf Arab military sources, the US Navy has rejected a series of requests to escort oil tankers or other civilian vessels through the Strait of Hormuz.
Naval escorts are made dangerous by Iran’s ability to attack shipping in the narrow sea passage, U.S. defense officials said, through the use of aerial and naval drones, anti-ship missiles, mines, armed punt boats and midget submarines.
It is therefore curious that Trump asks allies to engage in risky naval missions in dangerous restricted waters that not even the US Navy intends to carry out due to the risk of seeing their warships sunk. Even more serious is that he asks for it by threatening: Trump has in fact warned that the alliance would face “a very bad future” if they did not help the United States guarantee the security of the Strait.
Yesterday Trump promised a list of countries that will help the USA in the Strait of Hormuz «why do we protect countries that don’t protect us? I have always thought that was a weakness of NATO: we protect them but I have always said that in case of need, they will not protect us. This is a case of necessity. When we need them, they should spring forward and provide everything they have,” Trump said. The response was not long in coming and many chancelleries in Europe noted that there are no NATO member nations in the Persian Gulf.
No support has come from the EU for Trump’s call to arms: “There is currently no appetite to change the mandate of the Aspides Mission,” said High Commissioner for Foreign and Security Policy Kaja Kallas, denying that the EU naval operation in the Red Sea to protect ships from possible attacks by Houthi militias could expand to the Strait of Hormuz.
“Italy is not at war against anyone, I don’t want to think of Italy at war against anyone and sending military ships into a conflict scenario would mean entering it,” said the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport and Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini. The British government has outlined its political-military strategy to deal with the crisis relating to the war in Iran with the declared aim of defending national interests without dragging the country into a large-scale conflict. France rejected Trump’s request to send military aid to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz. According to a source familiar with the situation, cited by the Financial Times, Paris will deploy ships only after the cessation of hostilities between the United States, Iran and neighboring countries. From Europe to the Indo-Pacific, nearly every nation has ruled out sending military forces to Hormuz.
Berlin reiterated that the war against Iran “has nothing to do with NATO”. Government spokesman Stefan Kornelius recalled that the Alliance is a territorial defense organization and that it lacks the mandate to intervene outside its members’ area. Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has ruled out German military participation, instead proposing diplomatic initiatives to ensure the safety of passage through the strait. Greece has also ruled out any involvement in operations in the Strait of Hormuz. The Spanish Foreign Minister, Josè Manuel Albares, warned that “nothing should be done that adds even more tension or escalation” in the region.
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski recalled that President Karol Nawrocki has ruled out the participation of the Polish armed forces. Japan and Australia have ruled out sending military assets to the strait, despite their historic alliance with Washington and their strong energy dependence on Gulf oil. Sweden sees no role in ensuring the security of the Strait of Hormuz, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has said. «We must remain calm. There is a lot of talk about it now, but it is not relevant for Sweden to participate.”
The Netherlands is evaluating its possible participation in the defense of shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, but has not yet made a decision on the matter, Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen said.
Finally, Israel, already at war with Iran, does not rule out sending military ships to help patrol the Strait of Hormuz, but the responsibility should not fall only on Israel or the United States, as the Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, said yesterday.
The impression is therefore that no one wants to challenge Iranian missiles, mines, drones and torpedoes in Hormuz but above all that no one wants to help Israel and the United States to widen a conflict in which Netanyahu and Trump risk losing their residual credibility.
