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Donald Trump has told Nato to “stay away” in another explosive rant after Sir Keir Starmer announced the UK and France would work to protect shipping in the Strait of Hormuz “as soon as conditions allow”.
In a fresh attack, the US president, who has been heavily critical of the key alliance, once again accused it of being “useless when needed” and a dubbed it a “paper tiger”.
The criticism after Britain and France announced they would will lead a “multinational mission” aimed at protecting ships passing through the vital waterway, which is key to global oil supplies.
“This will be strictly peaceful and defensive, as a mission to reassure commercial shipping and support mine clearance,” the prime minister said at a gathering of world leaders in Paris on Friday.
“We invite all nations with an interest in the free flow of global trade to join us. Some have already indicated their readiness to contribute. We will take this forward with a military planning conference in London next week where we will announce more detail on the composition of the mission, and over a dozen countries have already offered to contribute assets.”
The criticism after Britain and France announced they would will lead a “multinational mission” aimed at protecting ships passing through the vital waterway, which is key to global oil supplies (Getty)
But the US president soon hit out at the announcement, writing on Truth Social: “Now that the Hormuz Strait situation is over, I received a call from NATO asking if we would need some help. I TOLD THEM TO STAY AWAY, UNLESS THEY JUST WANT TO LOAD UP THEIR SHIPS WITH OIL. They were useless when needed, a Paper Tiger! President DJT”
While the talks took place in the French capital, Iran has said it has reopened the strait to shipping, in a move welcomed by the US President.
He wrote in another post on Truth Social: “Iran has agreed to never close the Strait of Hormuz again. It will no longer be used as a weapon against the World! President DONALD J. TRUMP”
Iran had effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz since the US-Israeli bombing campaign began at the end of February, forcing up energy and fuel prices around the world.
In a fresh attack, the US president once again accused Nato of being “useless when needed” and a dubbed it a “paper tiger” (AFP via Getty Images)
Tehran said it had reopened the strait to shipping as part of the ceasefire deal in the Middle East.
Strains on the alliance have been highlighted by the response to the US president’s war on Iran, which has prompted an economic shock felt around the globe.
His latest in a string of critical remarks about Nato come a week after he met with secretary general Mark Rutte, where the White House said Trump planned to have a “a very frank and candid” conversation about his frustrations with the alliance.
The relationship between Downing Street and the White House has come under particular pressure, following a barrage of scathing remarks made by the US president in response to the UK’s refusal to become involved in his offensive operations.
In a recent jibe, Mr Trump likened Sir Keir to Neville Chamberlain at a White House Easter event on Monday, telling reporters the UK had “a long way to go”.