Hegseth: “Get in a boat” — US makes Hormuz formally Europe’s problem
Hegseth stated publicly that Europe “needs the Strait of Hormuz much more than we do” and should stop “having fancy conferences” and get in a boat. The White House reportedly circulated a “naughty and nice” list of NATO members — Israel, Poland, the Baltics, and increasingly Germany on the preferred side; Spain and the UK on the punitive side.
New today: Hegseth framing now confirmed as official US policy posture, not off-script; Pentagon email gives it teeth.
Why it matters: A direct inversion of collective defence logic — the US is now conditioning alliance reciprocity on alignment with a war not all allies supported or were consulted on.
Sources: CBS News · Al Jazeera