After being rebuffed by NATO members and other allies like Japan, President Trump on Tuesday said the U.S. is prepared to continue military operations against Iran, including clearing mines from the critical Strait of Hormuz, without their help.

Mr. Trump said on social media that while NATO countries agreed with the objectives of Operation Epic Fury, especially preventing the Islamic republic from possessing nuclear weapons, they told the White House that they “don’t want to get involved.”

“I am not surprised by their action, however, because I always considered NATO, where we spend hundreds of billions of dollars per year protecting these countries, to be a ’one-way street,’” the president said. “We will protect them, but they will do nothing for us, in particular, in a time of need.”

European officials have expressed concern over the U.S. actions in Iran and have refused to participate in operations to open the Strait of Hormuz to commercial ship traffic.

“We are not party to the conflict, and therefore France will never take part in operations to open or liberate the Strait of Hormuz in the current context,” French President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday at the start of a Cabinet meeting. “Once the bombing has ceased, we are ready, along with other nations, to assume responsibility for the escort system.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham, South Carolina Republican, said Tuesday that he recently spoke to Mr. Trump about European unwillingness to help keep Hormuz functioning.

“I have never heard him so angry in my life. I share that anger given what’s at stake,” Mr. Graham posted on X. “The repercussions of providing little assistance to keep the Strait of Hormuz functioning are going to be wide and deep for Europe and America.”

Kaja Kallas, vice president of the European Commission, said 85% of the oil and gas that passes through the Strait of Hormuz is destined for Asian markets. But a bottleneck there would also harm fertilizer production, and that could mean food shortages next year, Ms. Kallas said.

“The Strait of Hormuz being closed is to the benefit of Russia. We definitely need to do more on this,” she said. “What is happening in the Middle East is also affecting Ukraine, and it is affecting other partners.”

The Avenger-class minesweeper was the Navy’s dedicated mine-countermeasures workhorse for nearly 40 years. They were stubby, wooden-hulled ships sheathed in fiberglass that were designed to operate in the world’s most dangerous waters. The Navy based four of them in Bahrain.

But the “high-tech wooden bathtubs” were transported back to the U.S. about two months ago for retirement and eventual scrapping.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has said there was “no clear evidence” that Iran has laid a belt of sea mines into the Strait of Hormuz.

U.S. Central Command has confirmed the destruction of 16 Iranian mine-laying vessels in the vicinity of the Strait of Hormuz. That is a major feature of the U.S. strategy — kill the threat before the mines hit the water.

The Middle East mission now rests entirely on three Independence-class Littoral Combat ships: the USS Canberra, USS Santa Barbara, and USS Tulsa.

While the wooden-hulled Avengers would sail into the minefield, an aluminum LCS trimaran with a minesweeper package would stay in “clean” water and act as a “command-and-control” hub for a family of anti-mine systems.

The ships rely on unmanned surface vessels, aerial drones, and underwater drones to neutralize threats remotely. Once a clear path has been confirmed, the LCS would use its firepower to keep Iranian fast-attack craft away from tankers going through the cleared “lanes,” officials said.

Mr. Graham said he considers himself very “forward-leaning” about the U.S. support of international alliances.

“However, at a time of real testing like this, it makes me second-guess the value of the alliances,” he said. “I am certain I am not the only senator who feels this way.”