PARIS (AP) 鈥� We鈥檝e long had your back, now it鈥檚 our turn. That is how the famously transactional U.S. President Donald Trump is framing his demands that allies help him with . He wants to call in IOUs for decades of U.S. security guarantees.
The string of refusals indicates his stock of European goodwill is low. He has put allies through the wringer since returning to the White House, bullying them over , and other issues, and their soldiers made alongside U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
Now he鈥檚 demanding 鈥� 鈥� that they send warships to help the U.S. unblock the , through which a fifth of the world’s traded oil passes 鈥� essentially mop up behind that he and Israel ignited in the Middle East.
The reply has been a 鈥済lobal raspberry.鈥�
That’s how a veteran French defense analyst, Fran莽ois Heisbourg, described allied responses.
No close ally has come forward with immediate help. Britain is to be drawn into the war. France says the fighting would have to die down first. Others are non-committal. China, which is not an ally but was also asked to help, is
鈥淭his is not Europe鈥檚 war. We didn鈥檛 start the war. We were not consulted,鈥� European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Tuesday.
Trump’s frustration with the 鈥楻olls-Royce of allies鈥�
Trump has singled out the refusal from the United Kingdom. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and reached with the administration, but is now among allies who refuse to join a regional war
The U.K. 鈥渨as sort of considered the Rolls-Royce of allies,鈥� Trump said Monday, adding that he’d asked for British minesweeping ships.
鈥淚 was not happy with the U.K,鈥� Trump said. 鈥淭hey should be involved enthusiastically. We鈥檝e been protecting these countries for years.鈥�
Starmer said Britain 鈥渨ill not be drawn into the wider war” and that British troops require the backing of international law and 鈥渁 proper thought-through plan” 鈥� suggesting those were not in place.
He initially refused to let U.S. bombers attack Iran from British bases before accepting their use for strikes on Iran鈥檚 ballistic missile program.
Retired Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, former commanding general of the U.S. Army in Europe, said allies are 鈥渓ooking at the United States in a way that they never have before. And this is bad for the United States.鈥�
Having previously appeased Trump, some European leaders are 鈥渟tarting to realize that there鈥檚 no benefit or value in using flattery,鈥� he said.
European leaders say it’s not their war
Going to war was in keeping with Trump’s America-first outlook.
鈥淢y attitude is: We don鈥檛 need anybody. We鈥檙e the strongest nation in the world,” .
But failing to get an international mandate, as the U.S. did before intervening in , is boomeranging.
鈥淚t is not our war; we did not start it,鈥� German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said. 鈥淲e want diplomatic solutions and a swift end to the conflict. Sending more warships to the region will certainly not contribute to that.鈥�
French President envisions possible naval escorts in the Strait of Hormuz 鈥� but only once fighting has died down.
鈥淔rance didn’t choose this war. We’re not taking part,” he said.
After bruising tariff battles with Trump last year, the first months of 2026 have further strained alliances. Trump’s renewed pressure for U.S. control of Greenland, including a tariff threat against eight European nations, and his false assertion that allied troops in the Afghanistan War, upset partners in the NATO military alliance.
鈥淎llies, or at least the Europeans, aren’t willing to be at the beck and call of a demand from Donald Trump,” said Sylvie Bermann, a French former ambassador to China, the U.K. and Russia.
鈥淎nd even in asking for a helping hand, he is doing so in a brutal manner, saying: 鈥榊ou鈥檙e useless, we’re the strongest, we don’t need you, but come,’鈥� she said.
A dangerous mission
Retired naval officers say that unblocking the Strait of Hormuz with military escorts while the war rages and without Iran’s consent .
France, which has rushed its to the Mediterranean, is working with other countries to prepare such a mission once the air war has subsided. French military spokesman Col. Guillaume Vernet said any escorting would be conditional on talks with Iran, and Macron has publicized two calls in eight days with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.
That has won points with Trump.
鈥淥n a scale of zero to 10, I鈥檇 say he鈥檚 been an eight,鈥� Trump said Monday. 鈥淣ot perfect, but it’s France. We don’t expect perfect.鈥�
But he’s fuming at other allies.
鈥淲e will protect them, but they will do nothing for us, in particular, in a time of need,” Trump said Tuesday.
Trump has leverage, including in Ukraine
Allies in Europe and Asia need oil, gas and other products from the Middle East to flow again. That gives Trump some leverage.
Allies also know from experience that resisting Trump carries risks of retaliation.
鈥淚t really could be anything. Are the Europeans prepared for that?鈥� asked Ed Arnold, a former British army officer and now a researcher at the Royal United Services Institute, a London think tank.
European allies need Trump’s continued blessing for U.S. weaponry, intelligence, and other support for , as well as financial pressure on Russia. The U.S. has started to on Moscow by temporarily allowing shipments of Russian oil to ease stemming from the Iran war. Allies also want him to reengage in talks to end the war.
鈥淭hat was what kept European leaders quiet for a lot of last year in the face of the rhetoric and actions,” said Amanda Sloat, a former U.S. national security adviser who now teaches at Spain鈥檚 IE University.
鈥淚t is also the thing that is making them a little bit nervous now.鈥�
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Burrows reported from London. Associated Press journalists Jill Lawless in London, Lorne Cook in Brussels, Suman Naishadham in Madrid, Geir Moulson and Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin, Simina Mistreanu in Taipei, Taiwan, and Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo contributed.
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