All markets surge! Trump: Iran just issued a "request"! Strait of Hormuz navigation, latest news

Trump’s latest remarks spark a surge in European defense stocks.

Today, Europe’s defense sector climbed across the board. The aerospace and defense index at one point jumped more than 4%, and it may set the biggest single-day gain in nearly a year. According to a report from the UK on April 1, U.S. President Trump said he is “seriously considering” having the United States withdraw from NATO. In addition, U.S. Defense Secretary Hegseth said at a Pentagon briefing that “NATO should learn to protect itself.”

Analysts said that as tensions in the Middle East continue to escalate, differences between the United States and its European allies over military support for the region and the security of the Strait of Hormuz are rapidly becoming openly visible. Trump’s ally, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, previously revealed that in their most recent conversation, he “had never seen Trump so angry,” and the reason was that European allies were unwilling to commit more resources to keep the Strait of Hormuz operating.

According to CCTV International News, today (April 1), Trump posted on social media claiming, “The president of Iran’s new government is much more rational than his predecessors and not as extreme. He just requested a ceasefire from the United States! And we will wait to consider it only when the Strait of Hormuz is reopened and operates smoothly without obstruction. Before that, we will turn Iran into rubble, or, as they put it, blow them back to the Stone Age.” Trump did not explain who exactly the so-called “president of Iran’s new government” is. Iran has made no response for now.

Meanwhile, according to Xinhua News Agency, on April 1 UK Prime Minister Starmer said that this week the UK Foreign Secretary Cooper will chair an international meeting on the Strait of Hormuz to discuss plans to restore navigation through the strait. In a press conference that day, Starmer said the UK is exploring “all available diplomatic channels” to push for the Strait of Hormuz to resume free passage. He said the best way to deal with rising cost of living is to cool tensions and ensure the Strait of Hormuz is reopened again.

European defense stocks surge across the board

On April 1, after European markets opened, Europe’s defense sector surged across the board. As of the time of this reporter’s release, Germany’s Rheinmetall, Italy’s defense stock Leonardo, rose more than 7%, France’s Thales Group rose nearly 5%, and UK’s BAE Systems rose more than 3%.

On the news front, according to Xinhua News Agency citing the UK’s The Daily Telegraph, in an interview article with U.S. President Trump published on April 1, Trump is “seriously considering” having the United States withdraw from NATO.

When asked by a reporter whether he would consider having the United States withdraw from NATO, Trump replied, “Oh, yes—I want to say this is already a matter that no longer needs to be considered. I’ve never been pushed around by NATO. I always knew they were paper tigers. By the way, Russia’s President Putin knows that too.”

In response, UK Prime Minister Starmer said on April 1, “No matter how much pressure I and others have to bear, no matter how much noise there is from the outside, the decisions I make will prioritize the national interests of the United Kingdom. That’s why I’ve been clear all along that this (the war with Iran) is not our war, and we won’t get drawn into it.”

Earlier that day, Trump posted two times on social media, expressing dissatisfaction with the performance of the UK and France in military actions against Iran.

On March 31, Trump wrote on social media that France would not allow military cargo to be loaded or aircraft flying to Israel to overfly its territory, saying, “France has been extremely uncooperative in its military action against Iran, and the U.S. will remember that!”

Also, according to @CCTV International News, in an interview segment aired by Qatar’s Al Jazeera on March 30 local time, U.S. Secretary of State Rubio criticized NATO countries for not helping in the U.S.’s military actions against Iran, saying, “NATO’s performance is very disappointing.”

Rubio said the U.S. provides protection for NATO countries, but when the U.S. needs them, NATO countries refuse to allow the U.S. to use their bases—this is not fair to the U.S., and the U.S. finds it difficult to keep participating and needs to reassess its relationship with NATO.

Rubio also emphasized that everyone, including NATO allies, knows that without the United States there would be no NATO. If one day the United States decides to withdraw troops from Europe, NATO would end right there.

Latest remarks from the U.S. defense secretary

According to Xinhua News Agency, on March 31 U.S. Defense Secretary Hegseth said at a press conference that, considering that some allies refuse to provide help, Trump will make a decision about NATO’s future after the end of the U.S. military action against Iran.

At a Pentagon briefing that day, Hegseth said, “NATO should learn to protect itself.”

Hegseth said that Iran’s missiles “cannot reach the U.S. homeland at all,” but they can hit some NATO allies. However, the whole world has seen that when the U.S. launches a large-scale action against Iran, NATO allies do not even grant the U.S. permission for simple passage.

Hegseth also said that when the U.S. needs these ally countries, they are unwilling to stand with the U.S., so this alliance is not worthy of its name.

Polish media reported on March 31 that the U.S. asked NATO ally Poland to dispatch a “Patriot” air and missile defense system to the Middle East to supplement its increasingly urgent ammunition stockpile, in response to Iran’s counterattack.

Poland’s “Rzeczpospolita” (The Republic) cited information from insiders in reporting the above. Poland’s Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz responded later that evening on social media, saying that Poland’s missile defense system is for protecting its airspace and NATO’s eastern flank and will not be moved elsewhere.

According to a report by TASS, Poland has two sets of “Patriot” air and missile defense systems equipped with about 600 interceptor missiles.

As fighting in the Middle East drags on, the U.S. military is seeing a shortfall in the use of offensive missiles, and the defensive ammunition is also “not enough to go around.” It is understood that currently the U.S. military’s “THAAD,” “Patriot,” and “Standard-6” interceptor missiles are all in insufficient stock because they have been consumed quickly in the fighting and cannot be replenished.

The data show that in just the first 36 hours after the outbreak of the fighting, U.S. air defense systems had already used up more than 300 “Patriot” interceptor missiles, and Gulf states used 280 as well. In addition, large numbers of missiles were launched, and replenishing this ammunition could take several years.

Earlier, U.S. media reported that the U.S. has moved some of the “THAAD” air and missile defense systems deployed in South Korea to the Middle East, and has also pulled “Patriot” interceptor missiles from other regions.

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Editor in charge: Song Yafang