Donald Trump has branded NATO allies as “cowards” in a fresh attack on the defense pact over the Strait of Hormuz crisis.
Missing Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei has also issued a new statement calling on Iran’s enemies to strip them of their “security” amid the escalating war in the Middle East.
It comes after the US President called on his allies to help block the key shipping route – as global oil prices rise due to Iran’s stranglehold on it.
Trump also said it would be “easy” for him to allow ships to safely pass through the vital trade artery.
Iran has bombed ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz and maintained an effective blockade of it for the past several weeks.
The increasingly impatient US President said: “Without the United States, NATO is a paper tiger! They did not want to get involved in the fight to deter a nuclear-armed Iran.
“Now that battle has been won militarily, there is very little threat to them, they complain about the high oil prices they are forced to pay, but do not want to help open the Strait of Hormuz, a simple military move which is the sole reason for high oil prices.
“It’s much easier for them to do that, with much less risk. Cowards, and we will remember!”
The Strait of Hormuz is an important trade route and route for about 20 percent of the world’s oil.
Meanwhile, the missing Supreme Leader of Iran has issued a new statement on war with America and Israel.
The Ayatollah called on Tehran to ignore the security of Iran’s “internal and external enemies”.
Mojtaba, who is reportedly in a coma and missing a leg, has not been seen in public since the murder of his late father on February 28.
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