Rising tensions in the Middle East are now spilling into global alliances, with President Donald Trump warning that NATO’s future could be at risk if allies don’t step up.
According to the New York Post, during an interview with the Financial Times, Trump urged U.S. partners to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a critical route where roughly 20% of the world’s oil supply typically passes.
“It’s only appropriate that people who are the beneficiaries of the Strait will help to make sure that nothing bad happens there,” Trump said, emphasizing that countries like those in Europe and China depend more heavily on Gulf oil than the United States.
He added a stark warning for the alliance: “If there’s no response or if it’s a negative response I think it will be very bad for the future of NATO.”
The comments come as oil prices surge, with global benchmarks climbing to about $106 a barrel — a sharp increase of roughly 45% since the conflict with Iran escalated.
Trump also suggested that China should play a role in reopening the waterway, noting its heavy reliance on the region.
“I think China should help too because China gets 90 percent of its oil from the Straits [sic],” he said.
The president indicated that a planned meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping could be postponed amid mounting pressure on Beijing to act.
“I think China should help too… We’d like to know before that. It’s [two weeks is] a long time … We may delay,” Trump said.
Meanwhile, Iran has attempted to ease tensions with other nations, announcing that all countries except the U.S. and Israel would be allowed to pass through the Strait — a move seen as an effort to fracture any potential coalition.
Trump, however, made clear he expects more from NATO’s 32 members, suggesting they should contribute military support, including minesweepers and forces capable of neutralizing threats along Iran’s coastline.
“We have a thing called NATO,” he said. “We’ve been very sweet. We didn’t have to help them with Ukraine… But we helped them.”
“Now we’ll see if they help us,” Trump continued. “Because I’ve long said that we’ll be there for them, but they won’t be there for us. And I’m not sure that they’d be there.”
He also voiced frustration with the United Kingdom after speaking with Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
“The UK might be considered the number one ally… and when I asked for them to come, they didn’t want to come,” Trump said.
“And as soon as we basically wiped out the danger capacity from Iran, they said, ‘Oh well, we’ll send two ships’, and I said, ‘we need these ships before we win, not after we win,’” he added.
Trump reiterated his long-standing criticism of NATO, calling it a “one-way street,” while claiming Iran’s military capabilities have been largely diminished in recent fighting.
“You saw we hit Kharg Island, everything but the pipes yesterday,” Trump said of recent U.S. strikes. “We can hit that in five minutes. And there’s not a thing they can do about it.”
