‘Get your own oil’: Trump launches tirade against Europe for not joining Iran war
Donald Trump has launched a tirade against European countries that refused to join his war against Iran, calling out the UK and France, as transatlantic relations soured from the spiralling conflict that has wreaked havoc on the global economy.
Donald Trump has launched a tirade against European countries that refused to join his war against Iran, calling out the UK and France, as transatlantic relations soured from the spiralling conflict that has wreaked havoc on the global economy.
On his Truth Social website, the US president told governments worried about fuel prices to “go get your own oil” by force from the Gulf, comments that sent oil prices even higher.
In a tentative sign of a more proactive European pushback to the war, it was revealed on Tuesday that France had blocked Israeli planes from flying weapons through its airspace while Italy refused last-minute permission for US bombers to land in Sicily.
Spain has already denied the US use of its bases and airspace for the war, and on Tuesday Madrid’s defence minister said the country would not “accept lectures from anyone”. The UK, meanwhile, has allowed the US to use its bases for a war its government says is illegal, but has nonetheless received public admonishment from Trump.
In his Tuesday posts, Trump said “all of those countries that can’t get jet fuel because of the strait of Hormuz, like the United Kingdom, which refused to get involved in the decapitation of Iran” should buy US oil instead.
He suggested they should also “build up some delayed courage, go to the Strait, and just TAKE IT”. The US secretary of defence, Pete Hegseth, repeated the call, saying there were countries that “ought be prepared to step up on this critical waterway as well”.
Plans to control the strait of Hormuz by force are widely considered high risk and unrealistic, and European countries have been working for years on plans to buy more US oil.
In a separate post, Trump criticised France because it “wouldn’t let planes headed to Israel, loaded up with military supplies, fly over French territory”, writing that the country had been “VERY UNHELPFUL”. The office of the French president, Emmanuel Macron, said it was “surprised” by Trump’s tweet, saying Paris “has not changed its position since day one” of the war.
Global frustration with the economic fallout is growing. The Irish taoiseach, Micheál Martin, said on Tuesday that the oil supply shock caused by the US-Israeli attack on Iran was “probably the worst ever”.
With average US gas prices passing $4 a gallon for the first time in four years, Trump now also faces the prospect of a domestic backlash to a one-month conflict he is unable to end with violence, threats or flattery.
While Washington has said it is negotiating hard with Iran to reach a deal, Tehran’s ruling regime has been lukewarm, seeing the crisis as an existential fight.
On Tuesday, the Iranian president, Masoud Pezeshkian, said Iran had the “necessary will” to end the war “provided that essential conditions are met”, in particular guarantees that the conflict would not be repeated.
On Tuesday, blasts were heard in the Saudi Arabian capital, Riyadh, and Tehran attacked a fully loaded Kuwaiti oil tanker in the Gulf. US strikes also hit the city of Isfahan, home to one of Iran’s main nuclear sites, sending a huge fireball into the sky.
The conflict has killed more than 3,000 people, and governments outside the region are focused on the economic shocks at a time of high inflation, slow growth and a cost of living crisis in many countries.
Trump has been openly upset with Iran closing off the strait of Hormuz, even though closure was widely predicted, even before the war, if there were an all-out assault on Tehran.
This week, Trump warned that if a ceasefire was not reached “shortly”, the US would broaden its offensive, including by “obliterating” Iran’s power stations and fresh water plants, attacks that legal scholars say would probably be war crimes.
As the war with Iran continued, Israel stepped up its attack in Lebanon, a country it reinvaded this month and which it now plans to permanently occupy, according to its defence minister.
Israel Katz on Tuesday said the military would occupy a swathe of southern Lebanon and maintain control over the entire area up to the Litani River, which is about 30km (20 miles) inside Lebanon. Israeli forces would stay even after the current war with Hezbollah militants ended, he said.
Israel would block Lebanese people from returning to their homes there, he added, and Arab villages near the frontier would be demolished in the same way Israel demolished neighbourhoods in Gaza, where it is accused of committing a genocide.
While European powers have not taken effective measures to hold back Israeli and US attacks, the moves by Spain, France and Italy over the past few days suggest there are pushes to take a more proactive approach.
Margarita Robles, the Spanish defence minister, said on Tuesday that the US and Israel “can’t be the ones who, without anyone’s support, not even of their allies, decide what type of rules or peace apply in the world”.
Speaking to congress, she said: “Our position is supported by the majority of people, and not just Spanish but European.”
Spain feels no obligation to join an illegal war whose objectives, 30 days into the conflict, have yet to be defined, she added. “Two countries went to war and expected us to join them,” she said, adding that “we don’t accept lectures from anyone in regard to our commitment to peace.”
Reports that Italy had denied permission for US military planes carrying weapons for the war in Iran to land in Sicily, suggested fraying nerves even from stalwart European allies. It was dismissed by Rome as a procedural issue.
In Italy, the local Corriere della Sera newspaper reported that “some US bombers” had been blocked from landing at Sigonella, one of seven US navy bases in Italy. A source at the Italian defence ministry confirmed the report, but said that use of the base had been denied because the US sought authorisation to land only while the aircraft were already en route to Sicily, meaning there was not enough time to seek approval in parliament, as required under law.
It is unclear how significant the incident was. The office of Italy’s far-right prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, issued a statement on Tuesday denying that the move had caused “critical issues or frictions” with international partners, and said relations with the US were “solid and based on full and loyal cooperation”.
