Throughout his two terms in office, Donald Trump hasn't been shy to criticise – even to attack – Washington's Nato allies. But his latest suggestion – that failing to secure the Strait of Hormuz would be 'very bad for the future of Nato' – implies an understanding of the alliance's purpose that has already raised eyebrows.
Nato was created as a…defensive alliance, Gen Sir Nick Carter, former Chief of the Defence Staff, told the BBC on Monday. It was not an alliance that was designed for one of the allies to go on a war of choice and then oblige everybody else to follow, he said.
Coming from a president who only two months ago was making strident claims to Greenland, the sovereign territory of a fellow Nato member, there's more than a little irony in his latest remarks.
This perhaps helps to explain why some responses have been fairly blunt. In Germany, a government spokesman said the war with Iran has nothing to do with Nato, while the Defence Minister Boris Pistorius seemed to pour scorn on the idea that Europe's modest navies could make a difference.
What does Trump expect from a handful of European frigates that the powerful US navy cannot do? he asked. This is not our war. We have not started it.
But none of this should hide the fact that there's now an urgent, and growing, need for a solution to the crisis in the Gulf. Iran's effective blocking of the Strait of Hormuz – except for a handful of vessels carrying its own oil to allies like India and China – has left western governments scrambling to find a solution.
It may be a crisis triggered by Donald Trump's decision to go to war, but it's one that needs to be fixed quickly, before the impacts on the global economy get any worse. But it's already clear that there is no quick fix. At his news conference on Monday, Sir Keir Starmer said conversations aimed at working out a 'viable plan' were ongoing with the US, European and Gulf partners, but that we're 'not at the point of decisions yet.'
The prime minister referred to autonomous mine hunting systems which he said were already in the region. With HMS Middleton, a mine countermeasures vessel (MCMV) back in Portsmouth for major maintenance, this is the first time in decades when no British mine-clearing ship is in the region. Instead, the Royal Navy is expected to offer newly developed seaborne drones, designed to detect and neutralise mines without putting crews at risk.
But one of the problems Donald Trump is wrestling with is that minesweeping, once a core function of almost all navies, has long since ceased to be a top priority. Tom Sharpe, a former Royal Navy commander, said the latest British technologies had yet to be tested in combat.
We're probably going to find out in the next few weeks whether or not it works, he told the BBC. Gen Carter said the last time western nations carried out a major de-mining operation at sea was in 1991, after Iraq mined the waters off Kuwait to prevent an amphibious landing in the first Gulf War.
This is all happening in the backdrop of Iran's Revolutionary Guard proving their capability with armed fast boats, naval 'suicide' drones, and shore-based missiles to disrupt shipping, while Washington grapples with the hesitance of its allies. As countries look for diplomatic avenues, the stakes grow higher with every passing day of inaction.
Nato was created as a…defensive alliance, Gen Sir Nick Carter, former Chief of the Defence Staff, told the BBC on Monday. It was not an alliance that was designed for one of the allies to go on a war of choice and then oblige everybody else to follow, he said.
Coming from a president who only two months ago was making strident claims to Greenland, the sovereign territory of a fellow Nato member, there's more than a little irony in his latest remarks.
This perhaps helps to explain why some responses have been fairly blunt. In Germany, a government spokesman said the war with Iran has nothing to do with Nato, while the Defence Minister Boris Pistorius seemed to pour scorn on the idea that Europe's modest navies could make a difference.
What does Trump expect from a handful of European frigates that the powerful US navy cannot do? he asked. This is not our war. We have not started it.
But none of this should hide the fact that there's now an urgent, and growing, need for a solution to the crisis in the Gulf. Iran's effective blocking of the Strait of Hormuz – except for a handful of vessels carrying its own oil to allies like India and China – has left western governments scrambling to find a solution.
It may be a crisis triggered by Donald Trump's decision to go to war, but it's one that needs to be fixed quickly, before the impacts on the global economy get any worse. But it's already clear that there is no quick fix. At his news conference on Monday, Sir Keir Starmer said conversations aimed at working out a 'viable plan' were ongoing with the US, European and Gulf partners, but that we're 'not at the point of decisions yet.'
The prime minister referred to autonomous mine hunting systems which he said were already in the region. With HMS Middleton, a mine countermeasures vessel (MCMV) back in Portsmouth for major maintenance, this is the first time in decades when no British mine-clearing ship is in the region. Instead, the Royal Navy is expected to offer newly developed seaborne drones, designed to detect and neutralise mines without putting crews at risk.
But one of the problems Donald Trump is wrestling with is that minesweeping, once a core function of almost all navies, has long since ceased to be a top priority. Tom Sharpe, a former Royal Navy commander, said the latest British technologies had yet to be tested in combat.
We're probably going to find out in the next few weeks whether or not it works, he told the BBC. Gen Carter said the last time western nations carried out a major de-mining operation at sea was in 1991, after Iraq mined the waters off Kuwait to prevent an amphibious landing in the first Gulf War.
This is all happening in the backdrop of Iran's Revolutionary Guard proving their capability with armed fast boats, naval 'suicide' drones, and shore-based missiles to disrupt shipping, while Washington grapples with the hesitance of its allies. As countries look for diplomatic avenues, the stakes grow higher with every passing day of inaction.
