Donald Trump was asked on Friday for his opinion on Republican Senator Lindsey Graham's comments about “rethinking the presence of US troops in Spain or Germany.”
– He's right to ask about it (…). They should help with the strait because they get a lot of energy from the Strait of Hormuz. And if Lindsey Graham says this – don't forget, he's been a big advocate of NATO for a long time – then [znaczy, że] many senators and congressmen are very dissatisfied that NATO has done nothing, said the US president.
Donald Trump on unblocking the Strait of Hormuz
Donald Trump again called on allies — as well as China — to help open the Strait of Hormuz, saying they “will have to get involved a little bit” because America “doesn't use” the strait and the operation to unblock it would be easy.
“It's a simple military maneuver. It's relatively safe, but it takes a lot of help. In the sense that you need ships, you need a lot of them. NATO could help us, but so far it has not had the courage to do so. You know, at some point the strait will open itself, he added.
The leader stated that he had already “militarily won” the war with Iran. “All they're doing is blocking the strait. From a military point of view, however, they are finished, he said.
The senator called on Donald Trump to withdraw troops from Spain
Although the Spanish journalist's question concerned bases in Spain and Germany, Lindsey Graham himself, in an interview on Fox News on March 10, called on the US president to leave only the bases in Spain. He justified this by Madrid's refusal to use Spanish naval bases to attack Iran.
— If they do not allow us to use their bases, or rather our air bases in their country, to prevent a murderous regime from acquiring nuclear weapons that are terrorizing the world, [to wzywam] President Trump to move all our bases from Spain, he said.
Blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Appeal from the US authorities
The Iranian authorities are obstructing navigation through the Strait of Hormuz for vessels that Tehran believes are associated with hostile countries and their allies. Iran also conducts airstrikes on petrochemical installations belonging to Persian Gulf countries. These are retaliatory strikes against US and Israeli attacks on Iranian installations.
The Strait of Hormuz is the route through which approximately 20 percent is transported. world volume of crude oil. Its blockade caused a sharp increase in raw material prices on global markets. Disruptions in maritime transport have affected energy supplies to many regions of the world.
