US President Donald Trump expressed frustration Tuesday with allies who have been unwilling to do more to support the US war effort, telling them to “go get your own oil” as the conflict with Iran and its closure of the Strait of Hormuz sent average US gas prices past $4 a gallon.

Trump singled out Britain and France as unhelpful in the month-long war that has roiled global markets, driven up energy prices, and seen Iran effectively close oil tanker traffic through the Strait.

“All of those countries that can’t get jet fuel because of the Strait of Hormuz, like the United Kingdom, which refused to get involved in the decapitation of Iran, I have a suggestion for you: Number 1, buy from the U.S., we have plenty, and Number 2, build up some delayed courage, go to the Strait, and just TAKE IT,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.

“You’ll have to start learning how to fight for yourself, the U.S.A. won’t be there to help you anymore, just like you weren’t there for us. The hard part is done. Go get your own oil!”

He also lashed out at France for not letting planes carrying military supplies to Israel fly over French territory.

“The Country of France wouldn’t let planes headed to Israel, loaded up with military supplies, fly over French territory. France has been VERY UNHELPFUL with respect to the ‘Butcher of Iran,’ who has been successfully eliminated!” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.

Allies have refused to get involved

The French military has previously said France allowed the US Air Force to use the Istres base in southern France, because it had guarantees that only planes not involved in carrying out strikes would land there.

Spain, which has emerged as Europe’s loudest critic of the war, said Monday that it had closed its airspace for US planes involved in the conflict.

Italy has refused permission for US military assets to use the Sigonella air base in Sicily for an operation linked to the offensive in the Middle East, an official with knowledge of the matter said, confirming a local press report.

The denial was issued a few days ago and concerned American aircraft, including bombers, which were supposed to land at the base before continuing toward the Middle East, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

The Italian government later insisted that its relationship with the US is “solid and based on full and loyal cooperation.”

‘It’s not just our problem set going forward’

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth echoed Trump’s sentiment regarding the Strait of Hormuz in a Pentagon briefing on Tuesday, lamenting that the United States has done the lion’s share of the work in making Iran less of a threat, and arguing that other countries now need to step up to reopen the key shipping route.

“There are countries around the world who ought be prepared to step up on this critical waterway as well. It’s not just the United States Navy,” Hegseth said. “So the world ought to pay attention to be prepared to stand up. President Trump has been willing to do the heavy lifting on behalf of the free world to address this threat of Iran. It’s not just our problem set going forward.”

Trump later told CBS News he was not yet ready to abandon US efforts to reopen the Strait. “At some point, I will, not quite yet. But countries have to come in and take care of it,” he said.

Hegseth also said the next few days in the Middle East conflict would be decisive, saying there had been major desertions from the Iranian armed forces.

Citing intelligence, Hegseth said: “Our strikes are damaging the morale of the Iranian military, leading to widespread desertions, key personnel shortages and causing frustrations amongst senior leaders.”

“We have more and more options, and they have less… in only one month we set the terms, the upcoming days will be decisive,” he said. “Iran knows that, and there’s almost nothing they can militarily do about it.”

Hegseth also revealed that he visited troops in the Middle East on Saturday to witness the military operation against Iran, touting the successes of Operation Epic Fury.

“The last 24 hours saw the lowest number of enemy missiles and drones fired by Iran,” he said.

Echoing Trump, Hegseth claimed that regime change had effectively been completed in Iran, thanks to the US-Israeli strikes to decapitate its leadership, even though the Islamic Republic has remained intact.

“This new regime, because regime change has occurred, should be wiser than the last,” he said. “President Trump will make a deal. He is willing, and the terms of the deal are known to them.”

“If Iran is not willing, then the United States War Department will continue with even more intensity,” he added.

At the briefing, US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine reiterated that US forces had carried out more than 11,000 strikes against targets in Iran.

Speaking during a Pentagon briefing on the war, Caine revealed that the US has successfully begun conducting “overland missions” of B-52 bomber sorties, thanks to the air superiority that the US currently has over Iran.

‘Secret conversations with Arab leaders’

Meanwhile on Tuesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told ministers at a cabinet meeting that Israel is “forming alliances with Arab countries that are talking about fighting together on our side,” according to multiple Hebrew-language reports.

“In the past, I had secret conversations with Arab leaders,” Netanyahu reportedly said. “I told them, ‘As soon as Iran can, it will conquer you and overthrow your kingdoms.’ Back then, they didn’t really internalize things. Today they understand.”

On Monday, Ambassador to Washington Yechiel Leiter said that Gulf countries were asking Israel for help.

“Some of our allies have become even greater allies over the past month,” he told hosts Danielle Pletka and Marc Thiessen on the American Enterprise Institute’s “What the Hell is Going On?” podcast. “Whether it’s UAE, Bahrain, I think we’ve become closer to the Saudis, closer to the Omanis. Closer to the Kuwaitis for crying out loud.”

“They’ve asked us for assistance. So we become closer, and there’s going to be a concerted effort,” he said, without elaborating.

He also hinted at joint action with Arab countries: “Israel and her allies will continue to act. This could really make the difference going into the future.”

Leiter also said Israel “probably can’t” achieve its goals in the war with Iran without regime change — contradicting the US contention that regime change has already been achieved.

“The purpose [of the war] is to make sure that we don’t have a power, an entity in Tehran, which is developing nuclear weapons, is developing weapons of mass destruction in terms of these ballistic missiles, and is supporting proxies around the region,” he said.

“That’s what we’re focused on. Now, if that can be done without regime change, okay. Probably can’t, though. So at the very least, what we want is regime collapse,” Leiter said.

Regime change was never one of the official goals of the war, and while Israeli leaders indicated their desire to topple the Islamic Republic at the start of the conflict, the regime’s apparent resilience has led recent messaging to focus mostly on degrading its military capabilities.

Agencies and Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

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