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Trump says Nato faces 'very bad' future if US allies don't help open strait of Hormuz
Donald Trump has warned that Nato faces a “very bad” future if US allies fail to assist in opening up the strait of Hormuz, the Financial Times has reported.
Trump told the newspaper in an interview published on Sunday that he could also delay his summit with Chinese president Xi Jinping later this month as he presses Beijing to help unblock the vital waterway, the FT said.
The president argued that Europe and China were heavily dependent on oil from the Persian Gulf, unlike the US, the report said. It quoted the US president as saying:
double quotation markIt’s only appropriate that people who are the beneficiaries of the strait will help to make sure that nothing bad happens there.
If there’s no response or if it’s a negative response, I think it will be very bad for the future of Nato.
A fifth of the world’s oil supply normally passes through the strait, and Iran’s announcement that it would target ships using the waterway has effectively shut it down and sent oil prices soaring from about $65 a barrel to more than $100.
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Donald Trump is said to be working to build a coalition of countries that will attempt to reopen the strait of Hormuz.
The US president hopes to unveil the list later this week, Axios reported, citing four unnamed sources.
Over the weekend, Trump claimed that “many countries” would send warships to the region – before publicly urging a string of countries to do so. The response has been muted, my colleague Hannah Ellis-Petersen reported from Dubai.
Japan not sending ships to strait of Hormuz
Japan has said it will not send warships “at the moment” to help reopen the strait of Hormuz, after Donald Trump urged countries to join a “team effort” to protect vessels from Iranian strikes.
The strait has been all but closed since the start of the war, raising fears for energy supplies. A fifth of global oil supplies typically pass through.
The US president repeatedly pressed countries to help secure the waterway this weekend – specifically naming China, France, Japan, South Korea and the UK – and earlier warned that Nato faces a “very bad” future if its members fail to step up.
“In the current Iran situation, we are not at the moment considering issuing a maritime security operation,” Japanese defence minister Shinjiro Koizumi told the country’s parliament.
In the UK, ministers are drawing up plans to send minesweeping drones to the strait, my colleague Kiran Stacey reported earlier, amid concerns in Whitehall that complying with Trump’s demand to send ships could escalate the crisis.
Australia has also confirmed it will not send ships. “We know how incredibly important that is, but that’s not something we’ve been asked, or we’re contributing to,” transport minister Catherine King told national broadcaster ABC.
The fire near Dubai’s international airport is contained, according to authorities.
“Dubai Civil Defence teams confirm that the situation remains under control, with no spread of the fire,” Dubai’s media office said in a statement. “No injuries reported.”
Flights were suspended from the airport a short time ago.
Iran has arrested 500 people accused of sharing information with enemies, the Islamic Republic’s police chief has said.
Half of those cases had involved serious incidents “including people who provided information for hitting targets and individuals who took footage of strike locations and sent them”. Ahmadreza Radan said on Sunday, without going into detail on when the arrests took place.
Reuters also reports that earlier, while Israeli and US strikes continued on new targets in the country, Iranian media said dozens of arrests had occurred in several regions on Sunday.
In north-western Iran, the semi-official Tasnim news agency said, 20 people were arrested on accusations by the provincial prosecutor’s office of sending location details on Iran’s military and security assets to Israel.
In north-eastern Iran, which has remained relatively untouched by airstrikes, Tasnim reported the arrest of 10 people, with some accused of collecting information on sensitive locations and economic infrastructure.
The Student News Network said three people were detained in the western province of Lorestan for “seeking to disturb public opinion ... and burn mourning symbols”.
Israel has begun targeting security checkpoints based on tip-offs from informants on the ground, representing a new phase of its assault on Iran, a source briefed on Israel’s military strategy told Reuters last week.
Flights suspended at Dubai airport after fire
Dubai authorities have temporarily suspended flights at the city’s international airport after a “drone incident” caused a fire in the area.
The Dubai media office said a little earlier that Dubai civil defence teams had contained the fire, which resulted “from impact to one of the fuel tanks” in the vicinity of the airport.
The office later posted on X:
double quotation markDubai Civil Aviation Authority announces the temporary suspension of flights at Dubai International Airport as a precautionary measure to ensure the safety of all passengers and staff.
Travellers are advised to contact their respective airlines for the latest updates regarding their flights. Further updates will be announced through official channels as soon as they become available.
Emirates posted that all the airline’s flights to Dubai had been “temporarily suspended”, also saying:
double quotation markPlease do not go to the airport. Emirates will share updates when available.
French president Emmanuel Macron says he has told his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian it is “unacceptable” to target French interests, after an Iranian-designed drone killed a French soldier in Iraq’s Kurdistan region.
Macron said on X after his call with Pezeshkian on Sunday:
double quotation markI called on him to put an immediate end to the unacceptable attacks Iran is carrying out against countries in the region, whether directly or through proxies, including in Lebanon and Iraq.
I reminded him that France is acting within a strictly defensive framework aimed at protecting its interests, its regional partners, and freedom of navigation, and that it is unacceptable for our country to be targeted.
Chief Warrant Officer Arnaud Frion, 42, was killed last Thursday in a drone attack in Iraqi Kurdistan’s Erbil region – the first French military death of the Middle East war. Six other French soldiers were wounded.
A pro-Iran armed group in Iraq, Ashab Alkahf, warned the following day that it would target French interest in the region, while not directly claiming responsibility for the attack.
Macron said in the post on Sunday:
double quotation markThe unchecked escalation we are witnessing is plunging the entire region into chaos, with major consequences today and for the years to come. The people of Iran, like those across the region, are paying the price.
Fire near Dubai airport after 'drone incident' – authorities
Dubai civil defence terms are continuing to fight a fire caused by a “drone incident” near the city’s international airport, authorities say.
No injuries had been reported so far, the Dubai media office said on social media.
It said the drone incident “in the vicinity” of the airport affected one of the fuel tanks.
double quotation markCivil Defence teams continue their efforts to bring the fire under control.
The media office also said earlier that “all necessary measures are being taken to ensure everyone’s safety”.
Dubai international airport in the United Arab Emirates is reportedly the world’s busiest international hub.
Some background here after Donald Trump said Nato faced a “very bad” future if US allies didn’t help it to open the strait of Hormuz.
Countries including the UK, Japan, China and South Korea have said they are still considering their options but without making commitments after the US president urged them to send warships to the vital shipping route, Hannah Ellis-Petersen reports today from Dubai.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump claimed that “many countries, especially those who are affected by Iran’s attempted closure of the Hormuz strait, will be sending war ships, in conjunction with the United States of America, to keep the strait open and safe”, the report continued.
In a later post, Trump extended his call to all “the countries of the world that receive oil through the Hormuz strait” to send naval support.
The effective closure of the strait of Hormuz by Tehran, in retaliation for airstrikes by the US and Israel, has proved catastrophic for global energy and trade flows, causing the largest oil supply disruption in history and soaring global oil prices.
Oil prices rise after Trump claims US ‘demolished’ Iran's Kharg Island export hub
Callum Jones
Oil prices have climbed again amid mounting supply fears after the US struck Iran’s vital Kharg Island oil hub and Donald Trump demanded allies help reopen the strait of Hormuz.
Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose 1.8% to $104.98 per barrel during early trading on Monday. Another weekend of violence across the Middle East compounded concerns over the conflict, and its ramifications for global energy markets.
The US president claimed on Saturday that US strikes had “totally demolished” most of Kharg Island, telling NBC News that its military may hit site “a few more times just for fun”.
Kharg, an 8km-long (five-mile) coral island in the Persian Gulf 43km from the mainland, is a key processing hub for Iran, through which 90% of the country’s oil exports typically flow.
Trump claimed on social media that he had avoided striking oil and energy infrastructure on the island “for reasons of decency”, and that only military targets had been hit.
But the decision to strike Kharg, which had been largely left untouched by the US-Israeli operation during its first two weeks, did not soothe the apprehensions rattling through global markets.
See the full story here:
A “drone-related incident” has caused a fire in the vicinity of Dubai international airport, the city’s media office has just said on social media.
It said authorities were responding to the fire, adding:
double quotation markAll necessary measures are being taken to ensure everyone’s safety.
