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U.S. President Donald Trump suggested on Wednesday that the United States could "finish off" what remains of Iran and leave countries that depend on the Strait of Hormuz to secure it themselves, in a sharp escalation of his public rhetoric as frustration mounted over allied reluctance to join his Hormuz coalition.
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"I wonder what would happen if we 'finished off' what's left of the Iranian Terror State, and let the Countries that use it, we don't, be responsible for the so called 'Straight?'" Trump wrote on Truth Social, misspelling "strait."
"That would get some of our non-responsive 'Allies' in gear, and fast!!!," he added.
Also in a brief phone call with NBC News, Trump dismissed the Iranian retaliation on Israel overnight after two of Iran's top officials were killed.
"The attack was nothing compared to what happened to them," he said, adding that, "They’re going down. They’re losing big."
Two Israelis were killed in the Tel Aviv suburb of Ramat Gan in an Iranian missile strike early Wednesday.
Trump had previously said countries responded positively to his calls to help reopen the strait. However, he subsequently said most NATO allies told the U.S. they did not want to get involved in the war.
"The United States has been informed by most of our NATO “Allies” that they don’t want to get involved with our Military Operation against the Terrorist Regime of Iran, in the Middle East, this, despite the fact that almost every Country strongly agreed with what we are doing, and that Iran cannot, in any way, shape, or form, be allowed to have a Nuclear Weapon," he stated on Tuesday on his Truth Social account.
"I am not surprised by their action, however, because I always considered NATO, where we spend Hundreds of Billions of Dollars per year protecting these same Countries, to be a one way street —We will protect them, but they will do nothing for us, in particular, in a time of need. Fortunately, we have decimated Iran’s Military — Their Navy is gone, their Air Force is gone, their Anti-Aircraft and Radar is gone and perhaps, most importantly, their Leaders, at virtually every level, are gone, never to threaten us, our Middle Eastern Allies, or the World, again!," he stated.
"Because of the fact that we have had such Military Success, we no longer “need,” or desire, the NATO Countries’ assistance — WE NEVER DID!," Trump added.
He lastly declared the U.S. no longer needs their assistance, writing, "WE DO NOT NEED THE HELP OF ANYONE!"
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