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Hegseth Criticises Europe
War Secretary Pete Hegseth continued his attacks on Europe, accusing them of holding a ‘silly conference’ and not making ‘serious efforts’ on Iran, as he held the latest Pentagon briefing on Friday.
“I know there’s a lot of talks. You saw the, I would call it a silly conference in Europe last week where they got together and talked about talking about maybe doing something eventually when things are done,” he said. “Those are not serious efforts yet. We would welcome that.”
“We would welcome a serious European effort to do something about this Strait and this passage considering it’s their energy capabilities that are most at stake. I think it’s a wake-up call. It’s a wake-up call for countries around the world. Either you have capabilities or you don’t. Otherwise, you’re at the behest of a country like Iran, and the only country that can do something about it is the United States military,” he added.
Trump Pressures NATO Allies
Donald Trump has repeatedly condemned NATO and European allies for failing to ‘step up’ and assist the US on Iran, even suggesting he could withdraw from the alliance which he dubbed a ‘paper tiger’.
Earlier this week, Trump said he was extending the ceasefire with Iran – set to expire Wednesday – “until such time as their leaders and representatives can come up with a unified proposal.”
On Friday, Pakistani media reported that an Iranian delegation led by foreign minister Abbas Araghchi was set to arrive in Islamabad the same day.
Ceasefire and Talks
The US and Iran agreed the initial two-week ceasefire on April 8, following five and a half weeks of fighting – and a global energy crisis surrounding the Strait of Hormuz. Both sides accused each other of violating the truce.
The first round of talks were held in Islamabad on April 11-12 – with more scheduled for earlier this week, but those did not materialise.
Article by Viory
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