MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Some of America's staunchest European allies are refusing to send their warships to police the Strait of Hormuz. That's the waterway where lots of the world's oil passes through, largely shut off by Iran since the U.S. and Israel launched strikes against it.
A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
President Trump complains the U.S. can't count on the loyalty of its partners despite years of providing defense to Europe. NATO countries are planning to meet today in Brussels to discuss the situation in the Middle East amid the strained relations between the U.S. and its allies.
MARTIN: Teri Schultz is in Brussels, and she's with us now to talk about all this. Good morning, Teri.
TERI SCHULTZ: Good morning, Michel.
MARTIN: So President Trump says NATO allies have an obligation to help the U.S. reopen the Strait of Hormuz. He says the U.S. has protected its European partners for many years, and now it's time for them basically to pay it back. Is that argument going anywhere?
SCHULTZ: It actually may be backfiring, Michel. Today's the first time since Trump's remarks that NATO ambassadors are meeting to discuss the Middle East, and there could be some movement, but it's unlikely. It's unclear whether the U.S. ambassador to NATO will formally ask for help. I spoke with Giuseppe Spatafora, an analyst with the EU Institute for Security Studies who doesn't think any such request is going to fly.
GIUSEPPE SPATAFORA: Trump continues to speak of NATO as another entity, as opposed to an alliance of which the U.S. is part. For example, in recent interviews, he said that the U.S. has helped NATO with Ukraine. And consequently, the allies should help the U.S. with Iran, which of course is very different from the way that traditional U.S. presidents have spoken about NATO - about doing things together.
SCHULTZ: And those threats from the president, saying it will be bad for NATO if allies don't join in, seem to just reinforce that feeling of a lack of solidarity when he's seeking the opposite.
MARTIN: And you know that European foreign ministers declined to support the U.S. at their meeting yesterday. Say more about why that is.
SCHULTZ: That's true. European countries very much feel that this is not their war, Michel. Trump didn't consult them going into it, and then he demanded to use European military bases in the Middle East. So while they're not sorry to see the Iranian regime under attack, they don't want to participate in offensive actions.
MARTIN: Much of the discussion among EU foreign ministers was about possibly expanding a naval mission that's already operating in the region. Is that option still on the table?
SCHULTZ: That's right. They were talking about Operation Aspides, and it's focused on protecting navigation through the Red Sea. Ministers discussed changing the mandate of that operation to expand it to the Strait of Hormuz, but EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas says there was no support for this idea.
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KAJA KALLAS: The discussion on whether we are also extending this mandate to cover the Strait of Hormuz - there was no appetite from the member states to do that. Nobody wants to go actively in this war.
MARTIN: And as we have discussed so often, Europe already feels like it's helping to fight another war - Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
SCHULTZ: And that's right - the one that actually feels like an existential question in Europe. Again, no one here was campaigning to save former supreme leader of Iran Ali Khamenei. But it's Russian President Vladimir Putin they really see as an enemy and Ukraine as the territory they need to protect. Here's how Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen explained her country's consideration of Trump's call for help.
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ELINA VALTONEN: We unfortunately have a hot war waging in Europe, too, and that is certainly our first priority. From the Finnish perspective, we are securing 1,340 kilometers of border against Russia. Also, we very highly depend on - also on the traffic of the Baltic Sea. So that is where most of our capabilities are employed now and will also be in the future. And as already pointed out, the main focus for Europe is and will remain the defense of Ukraine as well, and that is certainly - which also requires a lot from all of us.
SCHULTZ: So we'll just have to see if President Trump ramps up the pressure enough to make European leaders change their priorities, Michel.
MARTIN: That's Teri Schultz in Brussels. Teri, thank you.
SCHULTZ: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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