Iran - Israel/US War: Israel-US declare war on Iran, Iran responds
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Hakwa Nadro
Trusted Member
india was / is the trojan horse in BRICS and most probably will be the reason for its downfall
flyingorca
SpeedLimited
Yasser76
Elite Member
UKBengali
Elite Member
They are firing an average of 30-40 a day with half at the Zionist entity.
Time is on Iran's side.
flyingorca
SpeedLimited
Muji.Iqbal
Trusted Member
European leaders reject military involvement in Strait of Hormuz
Pushback comes as US President Donald Trump says NATO allies should help secure key waterway amid soaring oil prices.Listen to this article | 7 mins
Tankers sail in the Gulf, near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from northern Ras al-Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates, on March 11, 2026 [File: Stringer/Reuters]
By Al Jazeera Staff and Reuters
Published On 16 Mar 202616 Mar 2026
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European leaders have rejected demands by United States President Donald Trump to help ensure freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.
Joining a European Union gathering in Brussels on Monday to discuss skyrocketing oil prices during the US-Israeli war on Iran, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said Berlin had no intention of joining military operations during the conflict.
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“We need more clarity here,” Wadephul told reporters ahead of the meeting. “We expect from the US and Israel to inform us, to include us into what they’re doing there and to tell us if these goals are achieved.”
“Once we have a clear picture of that, we believe we need to move into the next phase, namely, defining a security architecture for this entire region, together with the neighbouring states,” he said.
Meanwhile, speaking from Berlin, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said that while there would be “no military participation” from his country, it was prepared to support diplomatic efforts “to ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz”.
“This is not our war. We have not started it,” said Pistorius. “What does … Trump expect a handful or two handfuls of European frigates to do in the Strait of Hormuz that the powerful US Navy cannot do?”
Also speaking from Berlin, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s spokesman said the conflict has “nothing to do with NATO”. Stefan Kornelius told reporters NATO was “an alliance for the defence of territory”, adding that “the mandate to deploy NATO is lacking”.
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Germany’s position was echoed by fellow NATO member the United Kingdom. Speaking from London about joining any mission in the Strait of Hormuz, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “Let me be clear: that won’t be, and it’s never been envisioned to be, a NATO mission.”
Starmer stressed the UK would “not be drawn into the wider war”. However, he said the UK was discussing with the US and allies in Europe and the Gulf the possibility of using its mine-hunting drones already in the region.
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Scepticism
A number of EU countries joined Germany in reacting with scepticism to Trump’s call on Sunday for a naval coalition to deploy warships to secure the Strait of Hormuz, through which about one-fifth of the world’s oil shipments transit.The key Gulf waterway has essentially been shuttered as a result of the war, which has seen the US and Israel launch deadly attacks across Iran since February 28. Iran has retaliated by firing missiles and drones across the wider Middle East, roiling global energy markets.
Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten told the country’s ANP news agency that it would be “very difficult to launch a successful mission there in the short term”.
Lithuania and Estonia said NATO countries should consider a US request for help, but cautioned over the need for greater clarity around various aspects of any potential mission.
Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna also said that US allies in Europe want to understand Trump’s “strategic goals”. “What will be the plan?” he asked.
Greek government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis said that Greece would not engage in any military operations in the Strait of Hormuz.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said Italy was not involved in any naval missions that could be extended to the area.
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said, however, that Europe should keep an open mind on helping to ensure freedom of navigation in the strait even if the continent did not support the US-Israeli decision to go to war with Iran.
“We must face the world as it is, not as we want it to be,” Rasmussen said, adding that the EU must decide on a plan “with a view towards de-escalation”.
Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski invited the Trump administration to go through the proper channels.
“If there is a request via NATO, we will, of course, out of respect and sympathy for our American allies, consider it very carefully,” he said.
Sikorski made a reference to Article 4 of NATO’s founding treaty, which allies can invoke if they believe their territory or security is under threat.
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EU feels Trump’s pressure
On Monday, Trump appeared to criticise countries reluctant to help unblock the waterway.Advertisement
“Some are very enthusiastic about it, and some aren’t. Some are countries that we’ve helped for many, many years. We’ve protected them from horrible outside sources, and they weren’t that enthusiastic. And the level of enthusiasm matters to me,” he said at an event at the White House.
Trump expressed surprise at the UK’s reluctance, alluding to US spending “on NATO and all of these things to protect” the US’s “oldest ally”.
He said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio would be announcing the names of the countries willing to aid the US.
Prior to the meeting with EU foreign ministers in Brussels, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas had suggested that extending the bloc’s Aspides mission was the “fastest” way for it to boost security in the Strait of Hormuz.
After the gathering, she said there had been “no appetite” for extending the mission, which was established in 2024 to protect ships from attacks by Yemen’s Houthis in the Red Sea.
“Nobody wants to go actively in this war,” she said.
Earlier Kallas had said the strait’s closure, which has sent oil prices to more than $100 a barrel, was benefitting Russia’s war on Ukraine, which is largely funded by Moscow’s energy revenues.
Reporting from Brussels, Al Jazeera’s Step Vaessen said what was clear is that European leaders are “increasingly feeling the pressure from Trump to help him reopen the Strait of Hormuz”.
“There is very little appetite [on the part of EU leaders] for joining the war, especially because they feel left out of the loop,” Vaessen said. “They will be discussing a way to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, but that doesn’t necessarily mean sending warships.”
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Trump said he had spoken to French President Emmanuel Macron, who he said was willing to help unblock the Strait of Hormuz.
France had earlier suggested the EU could expand the Aspides mission, which currently has an Italian and a Greek ship under its direct command and may also call upon a French ship and another Italian vessel for support.
In an interview with the Financial Times on Sunday, Trump said NATO faced a “very bad” future if his proposal for a military operation in the strait received no response or a negative one.
European leaders reject military involvement in Strait of Hormuz
Pushback comes as US President Donald Trump says NATO allies should help secure key waterway amid soaring oil prices.
hussain0216
Elite Member
This is where the Zionists either miscalculated or thought the U.S could control the situation
They suspected that Iran would just target Israel from distance and both the U.S and Israel were far enough away to absorb attacks and gradually harm Iran
What (for some strange reason) they didn't suspect that Iran would hit and target every U.S base in the region, hit U.S puppets in the region, close the hormuz and target American GCC allies
This has created a disaster for the U.S, because their is now a clock ticking and every second, minute or hour the war goes on their is economic fallout
All iran has to do is keep fighting and the pressure on the U.S and Israel and the GCC will just become higher and higher
They can last maybe another week or two, after that they will slowly be forced to seek terms for negotiations
Bahrami
Registered Member
Guys, where is @Persian Gulf ? He is absent since some days...
RocketLaw
Registered Member
Trump just made an extraordinary admission:
The United States gets less than 1% of its oil from the Strait of Hormuz.
Japan gets 95%.
China gets 90%.
South Korea gets 35%.
So Trump is asking the countries whose entire energy supply depends on the Strait — to come fight for it.
While America, which gets almost none of its oil through it, started the war that closed it.
Japan just officially said no.
China called it Iran’s sovereign right.
South Korea has given no commitment.
America closed a waterway it barely uses.
Then asked the countries that need it most to come reopen it.
Then threatened NATO when they declined.
Iran’s Foreign Minister already answered this logic:
“There are people being killed only because Trump wants to have fun.”
$21 billion spent. 14 Americans dead. Oil at $102. Zero allied warships coming.
Less than 1%.
Never stop connecting the dots.
The United States gets less than 1% of its oil from the Strait of Hormuz.
Japan gets 95%.
China gets 90%.
South Korea gets 35%.
So Trump is asking the countries whose entire energy supply depends on the Strait — to come fight for it.
While America, which gets almost none of its oil through it, started the war that closed it.
Japan just officially said no.
China called it Iran’s sovereign right.
South Korea has given no commitment.
America closed a waterway it barely uses.
Then asked the countries that need it most to come reopen it.
Then threatened NATO when they declined.
Iran’s Foreign Minister already answered this logic:
“There are people being killed only because Trump wants to have fun.”
$21 billion spent. 14 Americans dead. Oil at $102. Zero allied warships coming.
Less than 1%.
Never stop connecting the dots.
Shags101
Trusted Member
More registered voters in US view Israel negatively than positively, new poll indicates
* * *
www.timesofisrael.com
Let's not make assumptions on the run. Iran will certainly settle scores with our neighbors once this war is over
HAIDER
THINK TANK: CONSULTANT
Saudi can't even control there space ...feel sorry for them..its flat land and easy target .....this war will get more interesting when summer will start 110 degree desert heat ....lollllLet's not make assumptions on the run. Iran will certainly settle scores with our neighbors once this war is over
Hakwa Nadro
Trusted Member
Even if we knew Gulf countries would be hit, big deal – we did what we have to do: Trump
We have more comments from Trump at the White House.Asked if he expected Gulf countries to be hit, the US president said:
- “Nobody expected that. We were shocked. The greatest experts, nobody thought they were going to hit.”
- “Kuwait is getting hit, Bahrain is getting, all these countries are getting hit. There was no expert that would say that was going to happen.”
- “It’s not a question of like … should you have known, and if we did know, big deal. I mean, we have to do what we have to do.”
Iran war updates: Trump chastises nations for lack of Hormuz ‘enthusiasm’
These were the updates about the US-Israeli war on Iran on Monday, March 16, 2026.
