US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has called America's European allies "ungrateful", saying they should be "thanking" President Donald Trump for going to war with Iran.
The US and Israel first launched strikes on Iran on February 28, met by retaliatory attacks by Iran, with military and energy infrastructure across the Middle East targeted.
As a result of the war, global shipping lines have been thrown into a frenzy, with Iran effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz – a passage through which one-fifth of the world's oil travels. Meanwhile, Israel said it would stop bombing South Pars, the Iranian part of the world’s largest gas field.
At a press conference at the Pentagon, Secretary Hegseth told reporters the US's allies should be more appreciative of America for attacking Iran.
He said the President was “doing the work of the free world”, calling Iran a "direct threat to America, to freedom and to civilisation".
“The world, the Middle East, our ungrateful allies in Europe, even segments of our own press should be saying one thing to President Trump, 'thank you',” Hegseth said.
“Thank you for the courage to stop this terror state from holding the world hostage with missiles while building or attempting to build a nuclear bomb. Thank you for doing the work of the free world.”
The US's allies in Europe and NATO have largely kept their hands clean of the war, something Trump has been highly critical of.
Earlier this week, Trump said NATO was making a "very foolish mistake".
"Everyone agrees with us, but they don't want to help. And we, you know, we as the United States have to remember that because we think it's pretty shocking," he said.
He reserved particular scorn for UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, saying he was "no Winston Churchill".
Early in the war, Spain's Pedro Sanchez faced threats from Trump that he would cut off trade between the two countries.
"We are certainly not going to be anybody's vassals, we won't tolerate any threats and we'll defend our values," Deputy Prime Minister Maria Jesus Montero said recently.
Yesterday, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Iran must not be able to pose a threat to its neighbours but expressed doubts about the rationale of the war.
"To this day, there is no convincing plan for how this operation could succeed. Washington has not consulted us and did not say European assistance was necessary," he said.
"We would have advised against pursuing this course of action as it has been pursued."
He also said Germany would not participate in freeing up the Strait of Hormuz by military means.
'It takes money to kill bad guys'
The Pentagon is reportedly seeking US$200 billion (NZ$341.9 billion) in additional funds from the White House, a senior administration official told AP.
Hegseth did not directly confirm that the Pentagon had requested additional funds. The White House, meanwhile, did not answer more questions about the funding request.
Hegseth said the amount could change, but “we’re going back to Congress and our folks there to ensure that we’re properly funded.”
He said the US "wouldn’t want to set a definitive timeframe" for the war, but believed "we're very much on track", saying Trump would decide when the war would end.
“It will be at the president’s choosing, ultimately, where we say, ‘Hey, we’ve achieved what we need to.’”
“Our objectives, given directly from our America-first president, remain exactly what they were on day one. These are not the media’s objectives, not Iran’s objectives, not new objectives. Our objectives – unchanged, on target and on plan.”
The morning's headlines in 90 seconds, including a traffic chaos for Auckland’s morning commute, and Donald Trump compares strikes on Iran to Pearl Harbour. (Source: Breakfast)
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