The US-Israeli war against Iran and the consequences of this crisis for the world continue to be the focus of attention in the world media.
The fact that many allies are now refusing Donald Trump's request to provide warships to ensure the security of the Strait of Hormuz has deeply angered the US president, "Spiegel" points out.
On this occasion, Trump accuses them of ingratitude. "These are, in part, countries that we have helped for many, many years. We have protected them from terrible external threats," Trump complained yesterday.
Germany, among others, has very clearly rejected getting involved in the war. "This is not our war, we did not start it", Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said at a press conference, a statement widely quoted internationally. Merz was also clear: "It was clear at every stage: This war is not a NATO issue."
It is good that Germany and the Europeans do not want to be drawn into Trump's war with Iran. But this could still become a serious problem for NATO, "Spiegel" points out. At the last NATO summit, the Europeans painstakingly wrung a confirmation of their security guarantee from the United States – in return, they promised to invest five percent of their GDP in defense in the future.
If Trump can now claim that the Europeans are not helping the United States in times of need, he may be even less interested in his promises in the future, notes "Spiegel".
As US Vice President, J.D. Vance is supposed to support the president's decisions, including the war on Iran. But he is known to be an isolationist. Vance, who served as a Marine in Iraq, has previously spoken out strongly against such US missions, the "Süddeutsche Zeitung" points out. In 2023, he wrote that he supported Trump because he knew that he would not send Americans into combat frivolously. In 2024, Vance said that a war with Iran in particular was not in the US's interest.
If he deviates too much from his previous position now and defends the war, Vance will lose credibility. And he will deprive himself of the opportunity to criticize the war later, when he runs for president and wants to distance himself from Trump. If he shows skepticism, however, he risks conflict with the president. And it is becoming clear that Trump is not listening to him, the "Süddeutsche Zeitung" points out.
However, J.D. Vance is flexible, which he has already proven when he turned from a critic to a Trump supporter, the local notes. He once called Trump an "idiot" and a "fraudster." Back then, he considered himself a centrist who defended the interests of the working class, at least the white one. For the people without prospects that he described in his autobiography. Then he saw Trump as his chance for political rise and joined him in the presidential race.
Since the beginning of the war with Iran, Vance has been trying to convey two messages at once: that he supports the president and that he actually does not approve of wars of this kind. His trick is this: he claims that the war with Iran is something completely different from previous wars. And he talks about what the president wants, says and does - instead of sharing his thoughts on the matter. Even when asked about his position, he emphasizes the "Süddeutsche Zeitung".
The series of contradictions that Donald Trump has demonstrated as a politician seems to have extended by several nautical miles since the beginning of his war against the regime in Tehran, notes the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung". Since even he had to admit that Iran is not Venezuela, Trump is now trying to force other countries, including the often-ridiculed allies in Europe, to provide military assistance in the Strait of Hormuz.
This amounts to an admission that the superpower USA, which supposedly no longer needs allies, cannot restore the passage of this strait that is so important to the world economy as soon as possible.
If energy prices were only rising in the USA, one could say: Trump has cooked this soup, let him eat it. Why help a blackmailer who not only threatens a "very bad future" for "this thing called NATO", but also mentions Ukraine, which should beg for America's support and even for Trump not to become even more of a defender of Putin, asks the rhetorical question "Süddeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung". Since the consequences of the war are not limited to the United States, we must also ask ourselves a counter-question: can Europe afford to push back against this deluded president and wait for him to lose the "pleasure" of this war or for the Muslim clerics to surrender anyway?
This seems to be the hope of countries, including Germany, who say: "This is not our war and it is not NATO's war". This is true, but it does not prevent Trump from constantly connecting everything to everything, concludes the "Süddeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung".
Donald Trump said that "many countries" had told him that they were "on their way" to help protect ships in the Strait of Hormuz, but expressed dissatisfaction that others were hesitating. The president told the "Financial Times" that NATO was expecting it "very badly" future if allies do not help the US open the vital waterway, which has been blocked by Iran.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer insists the UK "will not be drawn into a wider war", while Germany, Japan and France have rejected the prospect of sending ships to help open the strait. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has said that NATO is "not an alliance for intervention", the Financial Times notes.
The newspaper says that Canada, France, Germany, Italy and the UK have called for "immediate de-escalation" of the conflict between Israel and the Lebanese militia "Hezbollah", warning that a large-scale Israeli ground offensive would have "devastating humanitarian consequences".
As President Trump's war with Iran enters its third week, European leaders are caught between his belligerent demands for help in opening the Strait of Hormuz and their deep reluctance to be drawn into a war of the United States' choosing, the "New York Times" notes.
The newspaper notes that several leaders reacted with alarm and concern on Monday to Trump's criticism of their lack of action, with some of them flatly rejecting his call to send their naval forces into the danger zone even as the war waged by the United States and Israel continues to raise the price of energy worldwide.
Officials reacted sharply to Trump's warning in an interview on Sunday, that "it will be very bad for the future of NATO" if European countries do not join the United States in their efforts to reopen the vital waterway for tankers carrying oil, gas and fertilizers, notes the "New York Times".