WASHINGTON

US President Donald Trump continues to call on European allies to "do more" to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the White House said Monday, comparing the appeal to his earlier push for NATO members to increase defense spending.

"These countries are absolutely benefiting from ensuring that Iran can never obtain a nuclear weapon," White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told reporters.

"This is something not just the United States, but the entire Western world has agreed with for many, many years. So I think the president is absolutely right to call on these countries to do more to help the United States reopen the Strait of Hormuz," she added.

Leavitt added that countries such as the UK, which rely heavily on energy shipments passing through the strait, also benefit from efforts to secure the waterway.

"The president spoke on that last night. He said that he wished the UK had stepped up sooner and quicker," she said.

"He continues to speak with our allies in Europe, and is calling on them to do more, just as he did when he called on them to step up, with respect to their defense spending in NATO," she added.

Trump on Sunday called on China, France, Japan, South Korea and the UK to join what he described as a “team effort” to keep the Strait of Hormuz open by sending warships, though no country has so far committed to the plan.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Monday Britain “will not be drawn into a wider war,” stressing that sending troops must be based on a legal mandate.

Germany’s Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul also expressed caution, saying Berlin currently sees no NATO decision to take responsibility for securing the Strait of Hormuz.