“I hope that we will treat one another with the necessary respect within the alliance,” Merz added, in an apparent rebuke to Trump’s grousing.
Luxembourg’s Deputy Prime Minister Xavier Bettel went even further, stressing his country would not give in to “blackmail” from Washington. “Don’t ask us” to send troops, Bettel told reporters in Brussels.
Not Europe’s war
U.S. ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker on Monday reiterated Trump’s call for allies to support the war in Iran, given they import limited volumes of oil from the Gulf region.
“Ultimately that security of the Strait of Hormuz is in their interest,” he said. Trump “is absolutely right to suggest that our allies need to come, need to help us and support our efforts,” Whitaker added.
The Strait of Hormuz, through which about one-fifth of the world’s oil is transported, remains effectively closed due to Iran’s threats to shipping, causing the price of a barrel of oil to surge past the $100 mark last week.
Yet a full NATO mission in Iran remains improbable for now, according to four NATO diplomats who spoke to POLITICO, both because it’s unlikely to receive the necessary unanimous backing from allies and since it would add little compared to more rapid bilateral support allies could muster for the U.S. The diplomats were granted anonymity to discuss the sensitive security matter.