Trump reverses himself in a day: "What if countries that use Hormuz took responsibility?" [U.S.–Iran war]

Donald Trump, the president of the United States of America (U.S.), who had demanded that the Republic of Korea (South Korea), Japan, and others send forces to the Strait of Hormuz, again pressed them on the 18th (local time) to dispatch troops. After saying he did not need help because of his allies’ lukewarm attitude, he reversed himself in just one day and brought up the idea of "responsibility" again.
That day, Trump posted on his social media platform Truth Social, writing, "I wonder what would happen if we wiped out the remnants of the terrorist state, the Islamic Republic of Iran, and then made the countries that use that strait responsible for it." He went on, "Then some of our unresponsive allies would start moving quickly."
On the 18th, Trump also shared on his Truth Social account an editorial from the U.S. outlet New York Post titled, "America’s allies must wake up and help keep the Strait of Hormuz open."
His view is that allies are free-riding on U.S. military power in the Strait of Hormuz, and that among them, countries with high oil import volumes in particular should take charge of defending Hormuz. Because the U.S. has relatively low dependence on oil imports through the Strait of Hormuz, he argues that, in the long term, Washington should step back from securing the waterway, and that countries heavily dependent on those shipments should be responsible for keeping passage safe.
Zack Cooper, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research (AEI), said on the 18th in a podcast hosted by another local think tank, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), that South Korea and Japan would find it harder than Europe to reject Trump’s demands. "Unfortunately, I don’t think Japan and South Korea are in a position where they can simply say 'no'," he said. Cooper added, "I think the answer probably has to be 'yes', but if you ask, 'Do you think Japan will send minesweepers for mine-clearing operations?' the answer is 'absolutely not.' Moreover, European countries are clearly stating that they will not take part, are they not?" He then stated, "Japan and South Korea will have to provide some level of contribution."
Trump, who since the 28th of last month has been attacking the Islamic Republic of Iran together with Israel, ramped up pressure after Iran moved to close the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for oil shipments, by urging countries that import oil through the strait to send naval vessels for escort duties. On the 14th, he called on five countries — South Korea, the People’s Republic of China (China), Japan, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK), and France — to dispatch forces, and he repeated the same demand on the 16th. When European allies in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) effectively refused to send troops, Trump lashed out at them. On the 17th, he wrote on Truth Social, "We have already achieved significant military success, so we neither need nor want further support from NATO member states," adding, "We never needed them, and the same goes for Japan, Australia, or South Korea."
pjw@fnnews.com Reporter Park Jong-won Reporter