Trump warns NATO, threatening a “very negative” future if allies do not help ensure the opening of the Strait of Hormuz. In an interview with the Financial Times, the president of the United States also ‘calls’ China: “It should help, 90% of its oil comes from there,” he says, and awaits a response before the trip to meet Xi at the end of the month, which could also be postponed. Beijing: “The US must immediately correct its incorrect behavior on trade”.
Meanwhile, from the tycoon, who hopes to be able to announce the coalition this week, new threats and accusations against Tehran: “We can hit Kharg in 5 minutes, they spread disinformation with AI”. Regarding the negotiations, “we are talking to them, but I don’t think they are ready” for an agreement, while the oil companies warn: the crisis is likely to get worse. Meanwhile, Israel believes that “at least another three weeks” of war are needed, because “there remain thousands of targets to hit”, and launches a large-scale offensive against Tehran during the night. Iran does not negotiate and invites US allies “not to do anything that causes the conflict to widen”. Drones against the Gulf countries, activity at Dubai airport suspended. Meanwhile, the EU is evaluating a strengthening of the Aspides naval mission, but is silent on the ships in Hormuz, while London is considering sending minesweeping drones. The dossier today at the Foreign Affairs Council.
Trump, ‘Nato’s future is very negative if it doesn’t help in Iran’
This is the tycoon’s frank and direct message to European nations to join his war effort in Iran, contained in an interview given to the Financial Times on Sunday. “It is absolutely appropriate that those who benefit from the Strait help ensure that nothing bad happens there,” Trump said in the 8-minute interview with the FT, arguing that Europe and China are heavily dependent on oil from the Gulf, unlike the United States. “If there is no response, or if the response is negative, I believe this will be very damaging for the future of NATO,” he added. Trump’s comments came in the wake of an appeal to China, France, Japan, South Korea and Great Britain to join the “joint effort” to unblock the Strait through which 20% of the world’s oil transits. Despite the warning, Trump remained skeptical that US allies would heed his requests for help. “We have an organization called Nato. We have been very generous. We were not supposed to help them with the Ukraine issue. Ukraine is thousands of kilometers away from us, yet we helped them. Now we will see if they will help us. Because I have long maintained that we will be there for them, but they will not be there for us. And I am not at all sure that, given the facts, they will be there”, added the tycoon. Asked what kind of help he needed, Trump replied: “Whatever it takes.” He added that the allies should send minesweepers, ships of which Europe has far more than the United States. He also wanted “people who can neutralize some hostile elements that are along the Iranian coast.” Trump has hinted that he wants European commando teams or other military support to eliminate Iranians who are creating “disturbances” in the Gulf using drones and naval mines. “We are hitting them very hard,” he said. “All they have to do is create some small problems in the Strait. However, these countries benefit from it and should help us monitor it. We will help them. But they should be there too. After all, it takes a lot of people to keep an eye on a few individuals,” he concluded.
Israel, targeted land operations began in southern Lebanon
The Israeli Armed Forces (IDF) have announced that they have begun “limited and targeted land operations” against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. These “limited and targeted land operations” target “important Hezbollah strongholds” and aim to “strengthen defensive outposts” in southern Lebanon, the IDF said in a statement. “This activity is part of broader defense efforts to establish and strengthen a forward defensive position, which includes dismantling terrorist infrastructure and eliminating terrorists operating in the area,” the Israeli military adds, explaining that the plan is to “create an additional layer of security for residents of northern Israel.”
Pakistan and Afghanistan accuse each other of killing civilians in raids
Pakistan and Afghanistan accuse each other of killing civilians in recent raids. Pakistan’s military said yesterday that four civilians were killed and one was seriously injured when shelling by Afghan troops hit a house in Bajaur, on the Pakistani side of the border. The deputy spokesperson of the Taliban government de facto in power in Afghanistan states that one person was killed when a civilian house was hit by shelling by Pakistani forces. Obtaining independent verification of deaths and injuries is difficult, given the difficulty of accessing the locations.
Beijing, ‘USA must immediately correct incorrect behavior on trade’
China urged the United States to “immediately correct its misconduct” on trade as a new round of negotiations began between the world’s two largest economies. China’s Ministry of Commerce protested in a statement against the trade investigations announced in the United States shortly before holding new talks over the weekend. “The Chinese side has already complained to the American side. We urge the American side to immediately correct its wrongdoings,” he said.
Trump, ‘we talk to Iran but they are not ready for an agreement’
The US is in talks with Iran as the war enters its third week, but Tehran is not yet ready for an agreement to end hostilities. “Yes, we are talking to them,” President Donald Trump replied to reporters on Air Force One, without however specifying the nature of the talks, when asked about the existence of diplomatic initiatives underway to end the conflict that has spread throughout the Middle East. “But I don’t think they’re ready. But they’re getting pretty close,” Trump added. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has denied ongoing talks with the US.
IDF launches ‘large-scale attacks’ against Tehran
The Israeli army announced in the early hours of the morning the start of a large-scale campaign of attacks against Tehran, on the 17th day of the war between Israel, the United States and Iran. The army “launched a large-scale campaign of attacks targeting the infrastructure of the Iranian terrorist regime in Tehran”, we read on Telegram.
Trump, ‘Beijing must help, 90% of its oil comes from Hormuz’
Donald Trump expects help from China to unblock the Strait of Hormuz, before traveling to Beijing at the end of the month for a summit with his counterpart Xi Jinping. “I believe that China should also lend a hand, given that it receives 90% of its oil through the Strait”, said the tycoon, according to whom waiting until the summit “would be too much late”https://gazzettadelsud.it/articoli/mondo/2026/03/16/medio-oriente-israele-avvia-le-operazioni-terrestri-nel-sud -of-lebanon-trump-warns-nato-negative-future-if-it-does-not-help-in-iran-f7913c31-37f7-4842-959c-fba053a34d9f/.”We would like a response before then. That’s quite a long time,” Trump noted in an interview with the Financial Times, adding that his trip to China could be postponed. “We could postpone,” he specified, without specifying for how long.