Europe didn’t want an Iran war, yet Trump is saddling it with the consequences | CNN

“When we are finished, take over your government,” Donald Trump told the Iranian people late February, announcing the war. “It will be yours to take.” Weeks on, the US president is delivering a similar message to Europe, which is battling a fresh energy shock after Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil ordinarily flows. “Go to the Strait and just take it, protect it, use it for yourselves,” Trump said in a Wednesday night address. “They must grab it and cherish it. They could do it so easily. We will be helpful, but they should take the lead in protecting the oil that they so depend on.” As ever, Trump’s address was laced with inconsistencies: He both called on Europe to “build up some delayed courage” and use force to secure the Strait of Hormuz, before claiming that the waterway will “open up naturally” once the war is over. But the thrust of Trump’s message was clear: keeping the Strait open is not America’s business. Trump’s attempt to offload responsibility suggests a new doctrine for US policy in the Middle East, said Richard Haass, president emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations. In an