Middle East Monitoring Desk Islamabad
A Desperate President of the most powerful country US, Donald Trump has lost temperament and lashes out at the UK and other countries, telling them to “go get your own oil” from the Strait of Hormuz. This is clear indication that US is losing in Gulf while the world especially Europe is not willing to repeat its wrong doings like Iraq, Libya and Afghanistan in case of Iran.
“You’ll have to start learning how to fight for yourself, the USA won’t be there to help you anymore, just like you weren’t there for us,” he writes in a Truth Social post.
Pakistani expert Mr. Tazeen Akhtar observed, ” Certainly he is feeling alone in a war he himself started with no legal or ethical ground in a proud mood and mode after committing a crime in Venesuela by forcibly lifting the President and spouse from their bed room.”
He said , Mr. Trump has brought shame for US while he was living in a fool’s paradise like ” I will go, I will see and I will conquer but the scene was 180 degree different from what he had visualised. This state of affairs has further bewildered him because he failed to find any accomplice in this crime against international law and UN Charter.
Tazeen Akhtar said that Trump , after seeing the results from Iran’s standing and determination , was desperate to shift the responsibility to others and share the burden with Arabs and European allies but they all said No.
Second big disappointment for Trump was Hormuz remained in control of Iran and the oil trade was turned into Chinese currency raising rumors about the downfall of Dollar, Tazeen Akhtar said.
Paul Adams, Diplomatic correspondent of BBC notes it as Increasingly impatient tone of Trump’s posts suggests he knows he’s in a bind.
Donald Trump’s insistence that allies, including Britain, should “go to the Strait, and just take” Iran’s oil may appeal to some of his more vociferous supporters, but in the midst of a war without an end in sight makes little sense.
Assuming the president does not mean that western partners should take control of Iranian oil – by seizing tankers or parts of Iran’s oil infrastructure – then he’s repeating a demand he’s been making for some time: that the time has come for countries to contribute to an escort mission through the Strait of Hormuz.
The problem is that few countries believe the president when he says “the hard part is done”.
No-one is yet ready to challenge Iran’s chokehold over the strait. Not even US warships have done this.
With the president also saying that negotiations with Iran are going well – something of which, again, there’s little evidence – there is no appetite to pre-empt the outcome by mounting a risky military operation.
The increasingly impatient tone of Donald Trump’s social media posts (this morning blasting France as “VERY UNHELPFUL”) suggests that he knows he’s in a bind.
Gary O’Donoghue, Chief North America correspondent of BBC shared ;
Perhaps the most telling moment of Pete Hegseth’s briefing earlier – the first in almost two weeks from the Pentagon, was when the secretary of defence was asked whether opening the Strait of Hormuz was an “essential” objective of the war.
He could have given a simple yes to that answer, instead he focused on degrading Iran’s missiles, its ability to project power and its nuclear capabilities.
Crucially on the strait he said: “it’s not just a US problem set, it’s not just us, other countries should pay attention.”
He said these other countries, meaning Nato – and including the UK – should, as he put it, “start learning to fight for yourself.”
The attacks on Nato allies are not surprising.
What is fascinating here is that it opens up the possibility that the US could declare its objectives met without the free flow of oil and gas reestablished through the strait.
An indication perhaps that this administration is prepared to settle for something less than complete and utter victory.
Criticism of Nato was threaded throughout the briefing. Pete Hegseth took a swipe at Britain’s Royal Navy, reflecting not just his but also the president’s anger that Nato allies and in particular the UK, have not “stepped up” in the way Washington wanted.
So here we are, another inflection point in the transatlantic relationship that threatens to widen an already deep rift.
Majority of oil shipped through Strait of Hormuz ends up in Asia
Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has slowed down drastically since the beginning of the war last month.
Iran, which controls parts of the vital passageway, has restricted which ships can pass through resulting in rising oil prices.
But the severity of the blockade is not felt uniformly around the world, with countries in Asia being the most impacted by the reduced supply, as the graphic below shows.
The shipping route is not only vital for oil; other energy sources including natural gas pass through this narrow shipping lane.
About 20% of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas usually passes through the strait.
