‘Learn How to Fight for Yourself’: Trump Says U.K. and Others Should Go to Strait of Hormuz and 'Take' Oil

President Trump said Tuesday that nations unable to obtain jet fuel due to Iran's control of the Strait of Hormuz—singling out the United Kingdom for refusing to participate in offensive operations against Iran—should "go to the Strait, and just take it" instead of relying on U.S. support. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth echoed the message at a Pentagon briefing, arguing that countries like the U.K. have the military capacity to secure the waterway themselves. The pressure campaign comes as the conflict enters its 32nd day, with U.S. gasoline prices exceeding $4 per gallon for the first time since 2022 and the U.K. set to receive its last Middle Eastern jet fuel shipment this week. An Iranian missile strike hit a Kuwait-flagged oil tanker carrying 1.2 million barrels of Saudi crude near Dubai on Tuesday, hours after Trump threatened action against Iran's energy infrastructure if a ceasefire is not reached. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt later clarified that fully reopening the Strait is not a "core objective" of the military operation, despite the President's repeated emphasis on it.