WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said countries that gave the United States no help in the Strait of Hormuz should compensate Washington once the war ends.
Trump wrote on Truth Social on the 14th that nations that provided no assistance would have to pay the United States after what he called this hoax-like war, adding that the country has done far more for others than for itself, a pattern he said has continued for generations.
No country has yet joined U.S. forces in military operations in the Strait of Hormuz. Trump's remarks are read as a signal that he will seek some level of compensation, once the war with Iran ends, from countries that import crude oil and other goods through the strait. Trump recently singled out South Korea, saying publicly that it had turned down his request for help in the Strait of Hormuz. The South Korean government is since understood to be weighing a troop deployment to the strait.
Trump also argued on the same day that recent price increases stem from the former administration of Joe Biden. On Truth Social, he said he hoped everyone would realize that rising prices across the United States were caused not by "Trump" but by "Sleepy Joe Biden" and his administration, stressing that even oil prices had been higher during Biden's term than they are now and that his administration had blocked Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
The U.S. national average gasoline price stood at $4.32 a gallon, or about 3.8 liters, on the 14th, below the all-time high of $5.02 set on June 14, 2022, under the Biden administration. Diesel, however, has been setting record highs day after day, reaching $6.23 a gallon. The comments are seen as an attempt, ahead of the midterm elections, to remind voters that fuel prices were higher under Biden while highlighting his own role in preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.
Trump wrote that, setting aside oil prices temporarily, inflation is falling sharply and that oil prices will drop like a rock as soon as the military conflict with Iran ends. He insisted that the moment is not far off. Trump has made similar predictions before, saying the war with Iran would soon end and oil prices would then plunge, yet the conflict continues.
In a separate post on Iran, Trump said a declining Iran wants to strike a deal quickly and, in his words, desperately. He added that he would decide whether the United States enters talks and that Washington is open to negotiations themselves.
