The Financial Times quoted sources as saying that President Donald Trump has put pressure on NATO allies by threatening to stop arms support for Ukraine, through the Ukraine Priority Request List (PURL) program, if NATO does not support Washington in resolving the deadlock in the Strait of Hormuz.
Reacting to this tough stance, many countries quickly issued a joint statement on March 19 pledging to support ensuring freedom of navigation through Hormuz. The initial list included Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, France, Germany and Japan, before expanding to about 35 participating countries.
On April 2, the UK will convene about 35 of these countries to discuss measures to restore operations in the Strait of Hormuz, but the US is not on the list of participants.
Sources revealed that NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte was the one who strongly promoted the joint statement after Mr. Trump sent a signal that he might withdraw from the PURL mechanism as well as reduce his commitment to Ukraine. "The statement was drafted very quickly and other countries participated later because they did not have enough time to invite them from the beginning," a source said.
Tensions escalated in the context of conflict in the Middle East erupting after the US and Israel launched a military campaign against Iran from the end of February, followed by large-scale retaliatory blows from the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard.
Tehran then restricted the passage of ships related to the US and countries supporting the military campaign in the Strait of Hormuz, causing this vital oil transport route to fall into a state of tension. Several oil tankers were attacked while passing through the area without permission from Iran. About 1,000 ships are trapped.
On the morning of April 2nd Vietnam time, President Donald Trump gave a speech to the nation about the Iranian conflict. Mr. Trump said the Iranian conflict is "near completion", and predicted that the fighting would last for another 2-3 weeks.
The US leader declared that the Iranian Navy and Air Force have been destroyed. Iran's missiles are almost depleted or defeated. The US has paralyzed the Iranian army and prevented this country from making nuclear bombs.
