Trump upset as US partners reject call for Hormuz warship escorts

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: msn/Reuters

10h


WASHINGTON/TEL AVIV/DUBAI, March 16 (Reuters) - Several U.S. allies rebuffed Donald Trump's call on Monday to send warships to escort tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, drawing criticism from the U.S. president, who accused Western partners of ingratitude after decades of support.

The U.S.-Israeli war on Iran is in its third week with no end in sight. The critical Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas flow, remains largely closed off, raising energy prices and fears of inflation. The conflict has already imposed economic costs on U.S. allies, who were not consulted before the airstrikes on Iran and who have endured months of harsh criticism and bellicose threats from Trump since he returned to office.

A number of U.S. partners, including Germany, Spain and Italy, said they had no immediate plans to send ships to help reopen the strategic waterway, which Iran has effectively shut with drones and naval mines. "We lack the mandate from the United Nations, the European Union or NATO required under the Basic Law," German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said in Berlin, adding that Washington and Israel had not consulted Germany before launching the war.

Trump, speaking at a White House event in Washington, said many countries had told him they were prepared to help, but voiced frustration with some long‑standing allies. "Some are very enthusiastic about it, and some aren't," he said, without offering specifics.

Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/trump-upset-as-us-partners-reject-call-for-hormuz-warship-escorts/ar-AA1YM7yh

[wolfie001]

1. tRUMP and nut-and-yahoo should appear before The Hague

That would be true justice. And then when the trial is over:

[bluedigger]

2. At least we have Orban and the Hungarian navy, right?

Right?

[BumRushDaShow]

3. Orban

pushed for the Russian oil sanctions relief and got it so he could get cheap Russian oil (during his own election year).

[eppur_se_muova]

4. Shorter, recyclable headline: "Trmp upset". He's always got a bee up his butt about something.

Mostly, it's just reality biting back, and biting harder each time.

[Whip-poor-will]

5. Little girl rapist

Who would think starting a war ,in the Middle East no less wouldn't erase EPSTEIN EPSTEIN EPSTEIN from the headlines because HE"S over it .

Facts and alternate facts ......if you rape someone , it becomes a fact then no matter how many alternate facts you can invent, it never erases the FACT of the rape.facts caught on tapes his justice is hiding just won't go away, ask Nixon

Randy Newman might suggest now's the time for him "to drop the big one now" to escape Facts coming out.

Asking for help cleaning up a raped country is never easy

[progree]

6. How some ships are sneaking through the Strait of Hormuz, Wall Street Journal, 3/16/26

No paywall and no gimmicks like "gimme your email first" at this MSN-hosted article.

One sees headlines like oil prices coming down now that several tankers have transited the strait. Almost as bad as "this war is very complete, pretty much"

Well, here's some factoids I culled from this article

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/how-some-ships-are-sneaking-through-the-strait-of-hormuz/ar-AA1YMfAU

How some ships are sneaking through the Strait of Hormuz, Wall Street Journal, 3/16/26

. . . Traffic through Hormuz is still well below prewar levels. On average, five ships went through the strait each day last week compared with 125 before the war, estimates Stephen Gordon, head of research at shipbroker Clarksons. Three oil tankers made the voyage over the weekend, versus 40 over a normal two-day period, he added. Around 1,100 ships including 250 petroleum tankers are stuck in the Gulf, according to Gordon.

. . . Working through that backlog would take weeks even after the waterway is safe to pass, said Saleem Khan, chief data and analytics officer at maritime-intelligence firm Pole Star Global.

. . . Although the strait is 21 miles wide at its narrowest point, there are only two 1.86-mile stretches where water is deep enough for large oil tankers to pass, given how low these ships sit in the water. “This creates a two-lane highway for large vessels, one lane in and one out. The bottleneck here could last a few weeks at the very least,” he said.

[BumRushDaShow]

7. And it's not just oil tankers either

there are many container ships that pass through there and fully loaded, they would probably need the deeper channel lanes too.

[Hugin]

15. There's money involved somewhere and the Iranians are fully aware of each of those ships.

There's no sneaking going on... That's just playing into Trump's talking points.

Nothing bad towards you, Progree. I'm glad you put it up.

[progree]

16. I'm sure you're right - no way a tanker or container ship is being "snucK" through such a narrow body of water /nt

[Botany]

8. Hey Mr. Shit 4 Brains Orange Guy FYI:

German Defense Minister, "This is not our war, we have not started it."

[milestogo]

9. Melania has experience as an escort.

Send her.

[Botany]

10. Oh my that is nasty.

I like it.

[YodaMom2]

14. Ouch!

[City Lights]

11. Full Diaper stands alone.

"I alone can fix it."

Please proceed, Rapist.

[Javaman]

12. the orange pedo painted himself into a corner and is now pissed he didn't hire a painter.

moron

[LudwigPastorius]

17. Watch for the pivot to him calling this "Biden's war".

I'm not kidding.

[Bayard]

13. None of these countries were consulted before he started this disaster

So, now he's mad they're not going to get involved? Congress wasn't consulted either.

[muriel_volestrangler]

18. Donny No-Mates

mom can you pick me up at the strait of hormuz, my friends are laughing at me and wont help

— Andrew Lawrence (@ndrew.bsky.social) 2026-03-16T13:01:11.463Z

For starters, the Brits hate the current occupant even more than they hated GWB. And they really despise their Labour PM, even though there is beginning to be a grudging consensus that he is sorta-kinda doing the right thing w/r/t Iran. Right after this all kicked off, Starmer said probably the single most popular thing he’s said since moving in to No. 11. by ruling out any UK participation in “regime change from the skies.” The UK isn’t completely uninvolved, of course. After initially refusing permission, the UK has permitted the US to use Royal Air Force bases to prepare for “defensive” actions in Iran. American B-52s and B-1s have been taking off, laden with ordnance, from RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire.

Still, it does look for now as if the UK will not be drawn in any further. It helps that the US flailing is obvious. Trump, for instance, spent most of last week telling the Europeans that the conflict he started in Iran was totally over and that he’d won, and that he didn’t need their stupid boats to help secure the Strait of Hormuz, which is, by the way, completely open. This weekend, he began demanding that they send their stupid boats to secure the Strait.

It also helps that Starmer’s key political opponents have been screeching that he must support the American efforts in Iran: both Nigel Farage and Kemi Badenoch (leader of the Tories, if you’d forgotten), have lamented that the UK has abandoned its mighty ally.

Finally, it helps that the rest of Europe is a hard NOPE on getting tangled up in Iran. The Germans were particularly blunt this morning:

German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius:

“There will be no military participation.. We have a situation which we did not provoke.. This war started without any consultations.. What does Trump expect from a handful of European frigates in Strait of Hormuz that the mighty US Navy can't manage alone?"

— Adam Schwarz (@adamjschwarz.bsky.social) 2026-03-16T12:50:01.323Z

https://balloon-juice.com/2026/03/16/donny-no-mates/