Trump says US does not ‘need’ Strait of Hormuz help, despite appeal

US president strikes defiant tone as allies reject joining coalition, does not name countries he says are ‘on their way’.President Donald Trump has said that the United States does not “need any help” in reopening the Strait of Hormuz, despite his appeals for an international coalition to support shipping during the war against Iran.Speaking from the Oval Office during a meeting with Irish Taoiseach Michael Martin, Trump told reporters, “We don’t need too much help, and we don’t need any help” on the Strait of Hormuz.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Could the Iran war trigger a global recession?list 2 of 3UN warns of record hunger, 45 million more at risk, if Iran war continueslist 3 of 3Iran blames US, Israel for Hormuz tensions as crisis risks energy suppliesend of listHe then criticised several parties that have rejected joining such a coalition, including the United Kingdom, France and the NATO alliance.“Despite the fact that we helped them so much – we have thousands of soldiers in different countries all over the world – they don’t want to help us, which is amazing,” Trump said.“We don’t need help. That war has been long prosecuted as far as I’m concerned, almost from day one.”Trump’s remarks on Tuesday came after he made a weekend appeal for countries with a stake in the Strait of Hormuz to join a naval coalition to allow for unfettered passage.The strait is a narrow waterway between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula through which 20 to 30 percent of global oil travels.On Monday, Trump announced that “numerous countries” had agreed to join the coalition, telling reporters they were “on their way”. He suggested it could take some time, because some “have to travel an ocean”.However, when asked if the members of the coalition would soon be announced, Trump pointed to “great support” from countries in the Middle East.It was not immediately clear if Trump was referring to the pre-existing US military assets located in the countries he identified. While several Gulf countries have been involved in diplomacy aimed at keeping the Strait of Hormuz open, none has publicly joined the coalition.