US President Donald Trump declared on Tuesday (17) that NATO made “a very stupid mistake” by rejecting his request for support to guarantee security in the Strait of Hormuz. According to him, the decision proved to be a test with a “bad” result for the partnership.
“I’ve been saying for a long time that I had doubts about whether NATO would be there for us. So this was a big test, because we don’t need them, but they should be there,” Trump declared during a White House meeting with Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin.
Trump reiterated the criticisms he had made minutes earlier in a publication on Truth Social, in which he stated that he no longer needs help from his allies.
New Vietnam? Trump rejects comparison with current war
Asked by reporters at the press conference if he feared a repeat of Vietnam if he launched a ground military incursion into Iran as part of the 18-day offensive, Trump said no.
“I’m not afraid of anything,” he replied. With no end in sight for the intervention in Iran, the possibility of a land incursion is gaining strength.
So much so that Tehran warned Washington this week about the consequences if soldiers set foot on its territory. Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh warned in an interview with Sky News on Monday about the consequences of such operations.
“They understand that those who dragged them into this war (with Iran) can also drag them into a quagmire,” he said.
The reference to Vietnam, in addition to the deployment of American troops on the ground, becomes relevant now due to the uncertainty surrounding the duration of the operation in Iran. While in the first days the American president stated that the operation could last four or five weeks, he later declared that its end was imminent, without specifying a deadline.
Economic uncertainty and rising oil prices due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz are complicating the international financial situation and increasing market apprehension about the risk of prolonging the conflict.
