Trump’s failure to strong-arm allies on Iran shows that pressure is losing its effect

PARIS (AFP) – We have been supporting you for a long time, and now it is our turn. This is how US President Donald Trump, famous for his dealings, formulates his demands for allies to help him in the Iran war. He wants to demand IOUs in exchange for decades of US security guarantees.

Read more: AP Analysis: After two weeks of war with Iran, Trump has reversed his policy stance

The string of rejections suggests that his stock of European goodwill is low. He has put allies in a difficult position since returning to the White House, bullying them on tariffs, Greenland and other issues, and belittling the sacrifices their soldiers have made alongside U.S. forces in Afghanistan.

Now he is demanding – not just demanding – that warships be sent to help the United States open the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil trade passes – essentially to extinguish the fire he and Israel have ignited in the Middle East.

“Universal berries,” was the reply.

This is how veteran French defense analyst François Heisbourg described the Allied reactions.

Read more: Europe circles around Cyprus after an Iranian drone strikes the island

No close ally came forward to provide immediate assistance. Britain categorically refuses to be drawn into war. France says the fighting must stop first. Others are not committed. China, which is not an ally but has also been asked to help, is ignoring Trump’s call.

“This is not Europe’s war. We did not start the war. We were not consulted,” European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Tuesday.

Trump’s frustration with the Rolls-Royce Allies

Trump singled out the United Kingdom’s rejection. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has strengthened ties with Trump and reached an early trade deal with the administration, but is now among the allies who refuse to join a regional war that has no clear end.

Trump said on Monday that the UK was “kind of seen as a Rolls Royce for the allies,” adding that he had requested British minesweeping ships.

“I was not happy with the United Kingdom,” Trump said. “They should participate enthusiastically. We have been protecting these countries for years.”
Starmer said Britain “would not be drawn into a wider war” and that British forces needed the support of international law and a “proper, considered plan” – suggesting these were not in place.

He watches: Middle East experts discuss Trump’s pressure on NATO to reopen the Strait of Hormuz

He initially refused to allow US bombers to attack Iran from British bases before accepting their use to launch strikes on Iran’s ballistic missile programme.

Retired Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, former commanding general of US Army Europe, said allies “are looking at the United States in a way they never have before. And that’s bad for the United States.”

He added that after previously appeasing Trump, some European leaders “are beginning to realize that there is no benefit or value in using flattery.”

European leaders say it is not their war

Going to war without consulting allies was consistent with Trump’s America First vision.

“My position is: We don’t need anyone. We are the most powerful country in the world,” he said on Monday.

But failing to obtain an international mandate, as the United States did before intervening in the 1990 Gulf War, is regressive.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said: “It is not our war, we did not start it.” He added, “We want diplomatic solutions and a quick end to the conflict. Sending more warships to the region will certainly not contribute to that.”

He watches: The expert panel analyzes US goals in the Iran war

French President Emmanuel Macron envisions a possible naval escort in the Strait of Hormuz, but only after the fighting ends.

He said, “France did not choose this war. We are not participating in it.”

After bruising tariff battles with Trump last year, the first months of 2026 have further strained alliances. Trump’s renewed push for US control of Greenland, including the threat of tariffs against eight European countries, and his false assertion that allied forces have avoided fighting on the front lines of the Afghanistan war, has angered partners in the NATO military alliance.

“Allies, or at least the Europeans, are not willing to be on call at Donald Trump’s request,” said Sylvie Berman, a former French ambassador to China, the United Kingdom and Russia.

She added: “Even when he asks for help, he does so in a brutal way, saying: ‘You are useless, we are the strongest, we do not need you, but come.’

Dangerous mission

Retired naval officers say that opening the Strait of Hormuz with military escort while the war is raging and without Iran’s approval would be dangerous.

France, which sent its Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier to the Mediterranean, is working with other countries to prepare for such a mission once the air war calms down. French military spokesman Colonel Guillaume Vernet said that any accompaniment would be conditional on holding talks with Iran, and Macron announced two phone calls within eight days with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.

Read more: Trump says he has called on countries to help “protect their territory” and monitor Iran’s Strait of Hormuz

That got points with Trump.

“On a scale of zero to 10, I would say he was 8,” Trump said Monday. “It’s not perfect, but it’s France. We don’t expect perfection.”

But he is angry with the other allies.

“We will protect them, but they will do nothing for us, especially, in our time of need,” Trump said on Tuesday.

Trump has influence, including in Ukraine

Allies in Europe and Asia need oil, gas and other products to flow from the Middle East again. This gives Trump some leverage.

Allies also know from experience that resisting Trump risks retaliation.

“It could be anything really. Are the Europeans ready for this?” asked Ed Arnold, a former British Army officer who is now a researcher at the Royal United Services Institute, a think tank in London.

He watches: How Ukraine is helping the United States defend against Iranian drone attacks

European allies need Trump’s continued blessing for US weapons, intelligence, and other support for Ukraine, as well as financial pressure on Russia. The United States has begun easing some sanctions on Moscow by temporarily allowing shipments of Russian oil to ease shortages caused by the Iran war. The allies also want him to re-engage in talks to end the war.

“This is what kept European leaders quiet for much of last year in the face of rhetoric and actions,” said Amanda Sloat, a former US national security adviser who now teaches at Spain’s IE University.

“That’s also the thing that’s making them a little nervous right now.”

Burroughs reported from London. Associated Press journalists Jill Lawless in London, Lorne Cook in Brussels, Suman Nishadham in Madrid, Geir Moulson and Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin, Simina Mestrano in Taipei, Taiwan, and Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo contributed.