White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt talked about President Donald Trump\u2019s call for other nations to help protect the Strait of Hormuz in a gaggle with reporters and an appearance on Fox News on Monday.<\/p>\n
Leavitt said Trump wants allies to “step up” and do more for the security of the Strait of Hormuz \u201cbecause these other countries are benefiting greatly from the United States military taking out the threat of Iran.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Altaf\"](\"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/28086729-a195-48c7-81c3-ea0315cdcd03\/iran-15-ap-gmh-260311_1773238249089_hpMain.jpg?w=375 "\\"Altaf\\"")
<\/picture><\/div>\n<\/div>Oil tankers and cargo ships line up in the Strait of Hormuz as seen from Mina Al Fajer, United Arab Emirates, March 11, 2026.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Altaf Qadri\/AP<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n “These countries are absolutely benefiting from ensuring that Iran can never obtain a nuclear weapon,\u201d Leavitt told reporters.<\/p>\n “So I think the president is absolutely right to call on these countries to do more to help the United States to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, so that we can stop this terrorist regime from restricting the free flow of energy, and the fact that they are doing so just underscores why President Trump needed to take this action in the first place,” she told reporters.<\/p>\n Leavitt also provided an update on the current state of the war, saying the U.S. \u201ccontinues to totally decimate the rogue Iranian terrorist regime.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe’ve now hit more than 7,000 targets. We’ve sunk more than 100 of their naval vessels. We are completely annihilating their Navy ,and their ballistic missile and drone strikes against the United States are down 95%,\u201d she told Fox News.<\/p>\n