“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,” Trump said at an event at the White House.
He also said some nations did say they would be willing to help but Trump did not utter the names of any countries.U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran have jolted global energy markets, sending oil prices higher and raising gasoline costs for U.S. consumers. The surge threatens to complicate Trump’s domestic economic agenda and could weigh on Republican prospects in November midterm elections.
Several U.S. allies said on Monday they had no immediate plans to send ships to unblock the Strait of Hormuz.
Germany, Spain and Italy were among allies that ruled out participating in any mission in the Gulf, at least for now. Other countries were more circumspect, with Britain and Denmark saying they would consider ways they might help, but emphasising a need to de-escalate and avoid getting dragged into the war. France has said it will probably help.Earlier on Monday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S. was “fine” with some Iranian, Indian and Chinese ships going through the Strait of Hormuz for now. Oil prices eased about 1% on Monday.
Without specifying which country or countries he spoke to, Trump relayed a conversation that appeared to be a plea for help that was rebuffed. “We have some countries where we have 45,000 soldiers … protecting them from harm’s way and we have done a great job. And well, we want to know, do you have any mine sweepers? Well, would rather not get involved, sir,” he said.
Over the weekend, Trump threatened further strikes on Iran’s Kharg Island, which handles about 90% of the country’s exports, after hitting military targets there and spurring further retaliation from Tehran. The U.S. is in contact with Iran, Trump said, though he doubted Tehran was prepared for serious talks to end the conflict.
Trump also revealed that it was unclear whether new Iranian leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei was still alive, given reports he had been injured in an air strike.
“We don’t know … if he’s dead or not. I will say that nobody has seen him, which is unusual. A lot of people are saying that he’s badly disfigured. They’re saying that he lost his leg … and he’s been hurt very badly. Other people are saying he’s dead” he said during an event at the White House. “We don’t know who their leader is. We have people wanting to negotiate. We have no idea who they are,” Trump said.
After Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, was killed in the initial strikes of the war, Tehran announced his son, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, had been named as his successor. Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said last week the new leader was believed to have been wounded in a strike. He has not been seen publicly.
Oman has attempted multiple times to open a line of communication between the United States and Iran, but the White House made it clear it is not interested at this juncture, Reuters reported on Saturday.
