ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – US President Donald Trump on Tuesday called on countries struggling with a jet fuel crisis due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz to either buy from the US, or “build up some delayed courage, get to the Strait, and just TAKE IT.”

The US president directed his message to countries who have experienced a shortage of jet fuel, “like the United Kingdom, which refused to get involved in the decapitation of Iran,” to start fending for themselves, saying: “You’ll have to start learning how to fight for yourself, the U.S.A. won’t be there to help you anymore, just like you weren’t there for us.”

“Iran has been, essentially, decimated. The hard part is done. Go get your own oil!”

The major global chokepoint located south of Iran connects the Persian Gulf to international waters, and is responsible for roughly a quarter of all seaborne oil trade, as it is the closest passage of oil from several Gulf states to global markets. The Strait of Hormuz also accounts for the shipment of around 20 percent of the entire world’s liquified natural gas (LNG).

The price of a barrel of oil has soared to roughly 115 dollars as of the time of writing this article, amid Iran’s blockade on traffic in the strait in retaliation to the US-Israeli strikes on its soil, which have killed a crop of top Iranian officials, including the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Trump has repeatedly threatened intensifying the strikes on Iran if Tehran continues blocking the vital strait.

On Monday, Trump claimed that “great progress has been made” in the indirect negotiations with Iran, but threatened “obliterating” Iran’s key power and energy infrastructure if the Strait of Hormuz is not opened “immediately”.

European countries have largely been reluctant to fully enter the conflict thus far. Even though countries like the UK have flown daily sorties in the Middle East and shot down Iranian drones, the Europeans have not directly joined the offensive on Iran.

In a seperate post on Truth Social shortly after, Trump said that France has not allowed planes heading to Israel fly over its territory, asserting that France has been “VERY UNHELPFUL” during the ongoing conflict.

Yemen’s Houthis announced their entry into the war on Saturday by launching an attack against Israel. The Houthis’ entry into the war lends the Iranian side of the conflict yet another global economic pressure card, as blocking passage through the Red Sea would compound the already substantial impact that the Hormuz blockade has inflicted on the global economy.