U.S. President Donald Trump is continuing his push to have allied countries join the U.S. in securing the Strait of Hormuz, which has been blocked by Iran since the U.S. and Israel began their bombardment of the country.

The allies’ response has been largely wary.

At a news conference this morning in Washington, Trump has a warning for NATO allies who do not join the effort.

“Some are very enthusiastic about it, and some aren’t. Some are countries that we’ve helped for many, many years. We’ve protected them from horrible, outside sources, and they weren’t that enthusiastic, and the level of enthusiasm matters to me.”

Calling Iran a ‘paper tiger,’ he extended his call beyond NATO, naming China and Japan in particular.

“Other nations whose economies depend on the straight for a lot…these people literally need it, 90 – 99 per cent of their energy, their oil comes out of the straight and they should be in here, very happily helping us.”