Trump pressures NATO, China over Iran's closure of key waterway
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President Donald Trump on Sunday sought to pressure NATO allies and China to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the critical oil transport conduit that Iran has effectively closed in retaliation for the US and 'Israeli' war against Tehran.
Global oil prices have surged by 40 to 50 percent as Iran has choked off the waterway and attacked energy and shipping industry targets in its Gulf neighbours. Crude prices kept rising as markets opened late Sunday.
The US president had called on countries including China, France, Japan, South Korea and Britain Saturday to send ships to escort tankers through the strait, but various countries he listed have given only guarded responses.
"It's only appropriate that people who are the beneficiaries of the strait will help to make sure that nothing bad happens there," Trump told the Financial Times on Sunday. Unlike the United States, Europe and China are heavily dependent on the Gulf for oil imports.
He warned that no response or a negative reply to his request would be "very bad for the future of NATO." Trump also threatened to delay a planned summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping later this month if Beijing does not assist on reopening the strait.
