US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has called on allies to "step up" over the Strait of Hormuz, echoing earlier comments from President Donald Trump.
On Tuesday morning, Trump wrote on social media to tell countries to "go get your own oil", adding that "the U.S.A. won't be there to help you anymore, just like you weren't there for us".
Hegseth reiterated the president's view during a news conference on Tuesday, saying it was not just the job of the US to secure what he called a "critical waterway".
Iran has effectively closed off the Strait, one of the world's busiest oil shipping channels, since the US and Israel attacked it on 28 February.
Over the last three weeks, as Iran took control of the Strait, the Trump administration has whipsawed from asking Nato and European allies for help, to saying it doesn't need any help, to accusing them of disloyalty, to saying the requests for help were a "test", to now increasingly angrily demanding that allies go and reopen the Strait themselves - implying that it is not America's problem.
