Pete Hegseth, head of the Pentagon and, continues along the same lines as his ‘boss’ Donald Trump against Europe. This Friday, in a press conference, he attacked Brussels again and assured that Washington deserves partners “capable” and “loyal” to support them in the war against Iran.
“We don’t have Europe, but they need the Strait of Hormuz much more than we do, maybe they should start talking less, holding fewer ostentatious conferences in Europe and get on a boat instead. This is, to a large extent, more of your fight than ours.“, he assured.
But it was not the only thing he said against Europe. “You have been benefiting from US protection for decades and the time to take advantage is over,” he expressed, before reiterating that the blockade in Hormuz “will last as long as necessary“.
Pete Hegseth has also taken advantage of his intervention to warn Iran that if it decides to place more mines, it will constitute a violation of the ceasefire. At the same time, he has pointed out that the US blockade of Iran is becoming global.
“Iran has a historic opportunity to close a serious agreement. The decision is in its hands,” said the head of the Pentagon, according to the agency. Reuters.
A “silly” meeting
Hegseth has described as “silly” the meeting of some 50 countries organized by France and the United Kingdom last week to promote a “strictly defensive” mission to guarantee safe transit through the Strait of Hormuz, closed by Iran in retaliation for the war launched by the United States and Israel on February 28.
“We would welcome a serious effort by Europe to take action on this strait and sea passage.considering that it is their energy capabilities that are most at stake, I think this constitutes a wake-up call,” the Pentagon chief emphasized.
Three aircraft carriers deployed in the Persian Gulf
The Central Command of the United States Army (CENTCOM) has announced the incorporation in the last few hours of the aircraft carrier ‘George HW Bush’ to the US fleet in the Middle East, something that represents an unprecedented phenomenon in more than 20 years.
The ‘George HW Bush’ is now in the CENTCOM area of operations after leaving the Norfolk naval base in Virginia on March 31 and crossing the Mozambique Channel, at the southern tip of Africa, to the Indian Ocean.
The aircraft carrier joins the ‘Abraham Lincoln’ and the flagship of the US Navy, the ‘Gerald R. Ford’ to consolidate the blockade ordered by the president of the United States, Donald Trump, to the perimeter of the strategic Strait of Hormuz, now under the control of Iran.
The three aircraft carriers are part of a maritime deployment of a dozen combat ships including the destroyers ‘Spruance’, ‘Michael Murphy’, ‘Donald Cook’, ‘Mahan’, ‘Winston S. Churchill’, ‘Frank E. Petersen’, ‘Mason’, ‘Ross’ and ‘Bainbridge’.
