You are listening to an art media podcast.

It's Tuesday, March 17th, 2020.

I'm Deborah Pardace, and this is Arc News Daily.

I'm demanding that these countries come in and protect their own territory because it's the

place from which they get their energy. They should come and they should help us protect.

On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump ramped up efforts to open the Strait of Hormuz.

According to reports, he's expected to announce this week a coalition of states to protect

the passage from Iranian fire. Control of the strait has emerged as one of Iran's strongest

weapons in resisting the U.S. and Israeli assault. With oil and gas shipments through the

strait largely blocked, energy prices have spiked, creating economic anxiety worldwide.

Trump is under growing pressure to either solve the problem or end the

war. After promising last week that the U.S. will secure shipping going through the strait, Trump claimed

on Monday that seven countries have already agreed to join the coalition, but remain vague on who they are.

But Trump has been more clear about his growing impatience with American allies who have not yet stepped up to help. Speaking to reporters

aboard Air Force One on Monday, Trump made clear that he views the Strait of Hormuz as the

world's problem. He noted that Europe and China are heavily reliant on the Gulf oil

that passes through the strait, while the United States is relatively energy independent.

You could make the case that maybe we shouldn't be there at all, because we don't need it. We have a lot of

oil. Trump also started threatening NATO. On Sunday, he said the military alliance could face, quote,

a very bad future if its members don't join the coalition. And on Monday, he added that the U.S.

will, quote, remember who helped and who didn't. The international response to Trump's remarks was

less than enthusiastic. Following a meeting of European Union foreign

...