U.S. President Donald Trump said NATO allies had made a “very foolish mistake” by refusing to join the United States in its military operation against Iran, even as he acknowledged they broadly support Washington’s position.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office during a visit by Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin, Trump said most NATO members had informed the United States that they did not want to be directly involved in the conflict.

“I think NATO is making a very foolish mistake,” Trump said. “Everyone agrees with us, but they don’t want to help.”

No Immediate Retaliation Planned

Despite his criticism, Trump said he had no immediate plans to take action against NATO allies for their stance.

When asked whether the United States would retaliate, he said he had “nothing currently in mind”.

Trump has previously threatened to withdraw the United States from NATO, but did not raise the issue during his latest remarks.

Push To Secure Strait Of Hormuz

The U.S. president has also called on allies to help secure the Strait of Hormuz, a key global shipping route through which around 20% of the world’s oil passes.

The waterway has been disrupted after Iran responded to U.S.-Israeli strikes with drone, missile and naval mine attacks, effectively restricting tanker movement.

However, several U.S. allies said they had no immediate plans to deploy naval forces to the region, rejecting Trump’s request for support.

Mixed Signals From Washington

Earlier on Tuesday, Trump wrote on social media that the United States no longer needed NATO assistance following what he described as military success.

He said: “Because of the fact that we have had such military success, we no longer ‘need,’ or desire, the NATO countries’ assistance we never did.”

Trump also singled out countries including Japan, Australia and South Korea in his remarks.

(with inputs from Reuters)