Trump Blasts Allies Over Gulf Request

President Trump publicly criticized US allies on Monday for turning down or slow-walking his push to send warships to guard commercial traffic through the Persian Gulf. Trump, who argues nations that rely more heavily than the US on the region's oil should step up, said "numerous countries" had agreed to help but declined to identify them, the New York Times reports. He framed the request as a test of loyalty, saying, "We don't need anybody, we're the strongest nation in the world." He added, "I'm almost doing it in some cases not because we need them but because I want to find out how they react." He earlier said that NATO will face a "very bad" future if allies don't help to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

• The bluntest "no" came from Boris Pistorius, Germany's defense minister, who said, "This is not our war; we did not start it." On Sunday, Stefan Kornelius, a spokesperson for German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, said the war "has nothing to do with NATO," Politico reports. "I would also like to remind you that the US and Israel did not consult us before the war, and that Washington explicitly stated at the start of the war that European assistance was neither necessary nor desired,' he said.
• Japan, Italy, and Australia also said they would not join the Persian Gulf effort, while Polish foreign minister Radek Sikorski invited the US to go through the proper channels, the Guardian reports. "If there is a request via NATO, we will of course out of respect and sympathy for our American allies consider it very carefully."
• France, South Korea, and Britain have stayed vague, with British Prime Minister Starmer vowing not to be "drawn into wider war." Trump lashed out at Starmer in his remarks Monday, the Telegraph reports. "I was not happy with the UK. I think they'll be involved, maybe, but they should be involved enthusiastically."
• Trump said that on Sunday, Starmer told him he was meeting with his team to make a determination. Trump said he told Starmer he should make up his own mind. He said he asked the prime minister, "Why do you have to meet with your team to find out whether or not you're going to send some minesweepers to us or to send some boats?"