TOKYO, March 18 (Bernama-Kyodo) -- The United States no longer needs naval support from Japan and other allies to help secure the Strait of Hormuz, President Donald Trump said Tuesday, claiming military success has been achieved in its war with Iran.
Trump expressed displeasure with other NATO members, Australia, Japan and South Korea after they showed little interest in accepting his repeated requests to send warships to the crucial maritime corridor, through which around 20 percent of the world's oil shipments normally transit.
"Because of the fact that we have had such Military Success, we no longer 'need,' or desire, the NATO Countries' assistance -- WE NEVER DID! Likewise, Japan, Australia, or South Korea," he wrote on social media, Kyodo news agency reported.
Trump's change of course came ahead of his planned meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi at the White House on Thursday.
Over the weekend, Trump voiced hope that Britain, China, France, Japan and South Korea would work with the United States to help keep the shipping route open and safe.
Japan and other Asian countries are particularly reliant on the Middle East for energy.
Japan depends on the region for more than 90 percent of its crude oil imports, most of which travel through the narrow waterway between Iran and Oman.
But it is difficult for Japan to send its Self-Defense Forces to a war zone because of its pacifist Constitution.
Trump said most other allies of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation had told the United States that they do not want to join the US-Israeli military campaign against Iran.
Especially blaming European allies, he said, "I am not surprised by their action, however, because I always considered NATO, where we spend Hundreds of Billions of Dollars per year protecting these same Countries, to be a one way street."
Later in the day, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that he is "disappointed" with NATO and a couple of other countries, without naming them.
"They should be very thankful," Trump said, insisting that without the latest military operation, "a country like Iran was allowed to have the power of a nuclear weapon."
With no signs of the war winding down and Iran effectively shutting the Strait of Hormuz, Trump has increasingly framed the military attacks launched against Iran on Feb 28 as an effort on behalf of many others to ensure world peace.
When he spoke to the press, Trump also complained that the United States has provided a large amount of military equipment with "no charge" to Ukraine at the request of European allies to help it fight against Russia.
The president, meanwhile, said the United States has received strong support from the Middle East, calling countries such as Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates "great."
-- BERNAMA-KYODO
