Hegseth says Iran war is Trump’s ‘gift to the world’ as he berates Europe and Asia for ‘freeriding’

Andrew FeinbergFri, April 24, 2026 at 12:41 PM UTC

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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Friday lashed out at American allies for not committing naval forces to forcibly re-open the Strait of Hormuz after Iran effectively shut the key waterway down in retaliation for the U.S.-Israeli bombing campaign against the country.

Speaking at a press conference at the Pentagon alongside Joint Chiefs of Staff chair General Dan Caine, Hegseth implied that European and Asian countries were not sufficiently grateful for the U.S.-led war, which he called “a gift to the world” from President Donald Trump, citing the administration's purported goal of preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.

“It's a bold and dangerous mission ... courtesy of a bold and historic president,” he said.

The defense secretary claimed the “ironclad blockade” on Iranian ports imposed by U.S. naval forces and said it would be “going global” and “tightening by the hour” with “no one” passing through the Strait to “anywhere in the world” absent U.S. permission while accusing Iranian forces of “acting like pirates” and “acting like terrorists” by attempting to enforce their own blockade of the waterway against “random ships.”

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At the same time, the ex-television presenter mocked and denigrated longtime U.S. allies in Europe and Asia for not joining in the American-Israeli war and claiming that they have more reason to want traffic through the strait to resume because the U.S. “barely” makes use of it in comparison.

“Europe and Asia have benefited from our protection for decades, but the time for free riding is over. America and the free world deserve allies who are capable, who are loyal and who understand that being an ally is not a one way street. It's a two way street,” he said.

“We are not counting on Europe, but they need the Strait of Hormuz much more than we do, and might want to start doing less talking and having less fancy conferences in Europe and get in a boat.”

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Source: “AOL Breaking”