Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth has blasted America’s allies for free-riding instead of joining the war in Iran, describing the conflict as a “gift to the world” from Donald Trump.
As the war entered another day with no end in sight, Hegseth also declared it should not be left to America alone to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, at the same time insisting the U.S. naval blockade would continue for “as long as it takes.”
“It’s a bold and dangerous mission, a gift to the world historic courtesy of a bold and historic president,” he said on Friday, suggesting allied nations should be grateful.
The Strait has been effectively shut down since the war began on February 28, leading to a global energy crisis and more pain at the pump for consumers.
But despite Trump entering the war without congressional approval, public buy-in or consultation with NATO, Hegseth told reporters: “This should not be America’s fight alone. We barely use the Strait of Hormuz as a country. Our energy doesn’t flow through there, and we have plenty of energy.”
“Europe and Asia have benefited from our protection for decades, but the time for free riding is over,” he added.
“We are not counting on Europe, but they need the Strait of Hormuz much more than we do, and might want to start doing less talking and having less fancy conferences in Europe and get in a boat.”
The defense secretary’s comments come one week after the U.K. and France convened a 51-nation summit on the situation in the Strait of Hormuz to work out how to “protect merchant vessels, reassure commercial shipping operators, and conduct mine clearance operations.”
But the administration remains aggrieved at NATO’s refusal to commit naval resources to assist in the conflict. An internal email circulated within the Pentagon has reportedly canvassed options, including suspending Spain from NATO and re-evaluating Washington’s stance on the British Falkland Islands.
Trump, meanwhile, has taken a different approach to Iran this week, insisting that he is in no rush to make a deal after talks derailed on Tuesday.
However, the White House confirmed that special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner would travel to Islamabad on Saturday morning for lower-level talks with Iran, while Vice President JD Vance was ready to join with higher ranking officials if they prove successful.
“The president, the vice president, the secretary of state, will be waiting here in the United States for updates and the vice president, I understand, is on standby and will be willing to dispatch to Pakistan if we feel it’s a necessary use of his time,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters.
Earlier, Hegseth had said the U.S. would continue its blockade of Iranian ports and ships near the Strait for “as long as it takes”.
Oil prices rose to $105 a barrel off the back of that news, while gas prices also shot up to an average of $4.06 a gallon. This was up almost 3 cents from the day before and a stark increase from the $1.08 per gallon from before the Iran war began on February 28.
Without a clear end in sight, the war has become an increasing liability for the GOP, with a new poll from bipartisan public affairs agency ROKK Solutions finding that 73 percent of voters blame Trump and his administration for rising prices.
What’s more, 57 percent of Republicans blame Trump for soaring costs while 55 percent blame congressional Republicans.
However, Hegseth argued that Operation Epic Fury was going exactly as planned.
“Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, as the President has pointed out, all took years, decades. Vague missions, shifting sands, little to show for it,” he said.
“Operation, epic fury has been laser-focused from the very start.”
