Trump Reveals Call With Lee, Says Iran Asked for Help and Got a 'No Thanks'

[Financial News, New York = Reporter Lee Byung-chul] Donald Trump, the U.S. president, said he had asked South Korea for support in the Iran War during a recent call with President Lee Jae Myung, but was turned down. After saying a day earlier that South Korea's refusal to support Iran was one reason for scaling back the ROK-US Combined Military Exercise, he again voiced frustration by disclosing the details of the call.
On the 17th local time, Trump met reporters at The White House and revealed that he had recently spoken with Lee Jae Myung. "I called the South Korean president, whom I like, and said, 'Can you help us a little? We don't need help with the Iran issue, but if you want, could you lend a hand?'" he said.
He said Lee replied, "No, thanks." Trump also claimed on Truth Social the previous day that he had asked South Korea whether it was willing to join efforts to denuclearize Iran, but received a "No thanks" response.
Trump said he told Lee, "Wait a minute. We have 39,000 troops stationed there to protect you from your neighbor Kim Jong Un, and you won't help us with a very easy military operation in Iran?"
According to Trump, Lee said, "It would be better if we did not get involved." Trump then asked, "Then why are we involved in helping you?"
Trump's remarks drew attention because he directly linked South Korea's decision not to take part militarily in the Iran War with the presence of USFK.
By pressing South Korea to support a military operation in Iran that would be difficult to accept, and then criticizing its refusal, he portrayed the USFK deployment as a one-sided burden on South Korea, while also tying it to U.S. strategic interests.
Trump also brought up his earlier demand, during his first term, that South Korea increase its defense cost-sharing. He said South Korea had agreed at the time to pay the United States about $3 billion a year, but that the Biden administration reversed it. "We could have gotten a lot more money," he claimed.
His criticism was not limited to South Korea. Trump also mentioned NATO and other allies, repeating his longstanding argument that the United States cannot bear the security costs of its alliances alone.
He said, in effect, "We can't go around protecting all these countries when they are not stepping up to help us."
Still, Trump said of Lee personally, "I actually think he is a very nice person."




[email protected] Reporter Lee Byung-chul Reporter