Foreign Affairs: US President Donald Trump has again attacked NATO, stressing that he does not need the organization’s help in the Strait of Hormuz and saying that the military bloc is “useless when needed” during a war with Iran.
According to RT on April 17, 2026, on Friday afternoon, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi announced that the vital oil and gas shipping corridor was “fully open” to all commercial ships for the remainder of the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire, which is set to end next week.
Just an hour later, Trump said on Truth Social that the Strait of Hormuz was open to traffic, later claiming that Tehran had agreed “to never close it again.” He also stressed that the US blockade of the region against Iranian ships would continue until Washington’s demands were met.
Donald Trump has criticized his NATO ally for weeks for not joining the Iran war after Iran effectively closed the strait to ships from what it calls hostile countries. The US president has hinted that the US could leave the military bloc.
Editor: Nay Tola
