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US ally pledges support for Trump’s push to break Iran’s grip on Hormuz: ‘We are ready to contribute’
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UNITED NATIONS — The Czech Republic is prepared to help protect freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz and is aligning closely with the Trump administration on security, NATO and Israel, Czech Foreign Minister Petr Macinka told Fox News Digital during an exclusive interview at the United Nations in New York.
Prague already had begun discussions about contributing specialized capabilities to help secure the strategically vital waterway amid growing tensions with Iran, Macinka said while speaking at Security Council-related meetings at the U.N.
“We are ready to contribute to freedom of passage and the Hormuz trade,” Macinka said.
“We were among the first countries that were ready to contribute … We have no navy, as we are in the middle of Europe,” he explained, “But we have some unique passive surveillance capabilities.”
TRUMP SEEKS WARSHIPS FROM OTHER COUNTRIES TO HELP SECURE STRAIT OF HORMUZ
Czech Republic Foreign Minister Petr Macinka arrives at the 135th Session of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe at the Palace of the Republic in Chisinau, Moldova, May 15, 2026. (Vladislav Culiomza/Reuters)
Macinka warned that Iran posed a global threat through what he described as four main “war tools”: nuclear proliferation, drones and ballistic missiles, international terrorism and threats to the Strait of Hormuz.
“Their nuclear military program must be stopped,” he said. “It’s a global risk and global threat.”
The comments come as the Trump administration has increased pressure on European allies to take a larger role in protecting international shipping routes amid Iranian threats tied to the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical oil transit choke points. Roughly one-fifth of global oil consumption passes through the narrow waterway connecting the Persian Gulf to the Arabian Sea.
Speaking after a meeting with foreign ministers in Sweden Friday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio questioned the value of hosting U.S. military bases in allied countries that later restrict American military operations during wartime.
“One of the arguments I always made was that these bases in the region provided us with logistical options that we wouldn’t otherwise have,” Rubio told reporters. “And when some of those bases are denied to you during a conflict that we’re involved in, then you question whether that value is still there.”
President Donald Trump also has sharply criticized NATO allies over a reluctance to participate in military operations tied to the Iran conflict and securing the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump said he was “strongly considering” pulling the United States out of NATO after allies failed to join the U.S. campaign against Iran, according to an April 1 interview with Britain’s Daily Telegraph, calling the alliance a “paper tiger.”
Vessels of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps are seen during a ceremony marking the National Persian Gulf Day at the Persian Gulf near Bushehr, Iran, April 29, 2024. The National Persian Gulf Day marks the anniversary of the expulsion of Portuguese military forces from the Strait of Hormuz in 1622. (Shadati/Xinhua via Getty Images)
The Czech Republic, a NATO member since 1999, reached NATO’s benchmark of spending 2% of GDP on defense and has supported calls for Europe to increase military readiness amid Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Macinka strongly defended the administration’s calls for Europe to increase defense spending and reduce dependence on Washington for long-term security guarantees.
“We should do our homework and build our defense to become stronger,” he said, arguing that Europe had delayed necessary military investments for too long.
He also tied Europe’s defense spending challenges to the European Union’s Green Deal policies, the bloc’s sweeping climate agenda aimed at reducing carbon emissions, calling them ideological and financially destructive.
“If we get rid of this green, crazy alarmism, then we have enough money to build our defense,” he said.
The Czech foreign minister also voiced unusually direct support for Trump and his administration, praising what he described as a global “common sense” shift following Trump’s election victory.
“We are friends of Israel, and we are friends of America,” Macinka said. “Especially me as a politician, I’m a friend of the ideology of the current American administration.”
Macinka also referenced a clash earlier in 2026 with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the Munich Security Conference, where he criticized Europe’s liberal political establishment and defended the populist wave reshaping parts of Europe and the United States.
EUROPE MUST LEAD ON UKRAINIAN SECURITY GUARANTEES, GREEK FOREIGN MINISTER SAYS: ‘WE ARE THE NEIGHBORS’
A tanker sits at the Port of Fujairah, as the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran limits marine traffic in the Strait of Hormuz. (REUTERS / Amr Alfiky / File Photo)
Macinka linked Prague’s strong support for Ukraine to the Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968, when hundreds of thousands of Warsaw Pact troops occupied the country for more than two decades.
He said that historical experience continues to shape Czech public opinion and support for Kyiv.
“The Czech society feels a big solidarity with Ukraine,” Macinka said, describing the war as a “symmetric war” between a powerful Russian military and a Ukrainian army backed by the West.
Macinka highlighted Prague’s leading role in a Czech-backed ammunition initiative supplying Ukraine with artillery rounds collected through international donor efforts.
Recalling a visit to Kyiv earlier in 2026, he said he received intelligence briefings on battlefield ammunition consumption from Ukrainian military officials.
TRUMP, ZELENSKYY TO MEET FOR KEY DEAL AS NATO ALLIES, RUSSIA WAIT, WATCH
Naval units from Iran and Russia simulate the rescue of a hijacked vessel during joint drills at the Port of Bandar Abbas in Hormozgan, Iran, on Feb. 19, 2026. (Iranian Army/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The Czech initiative delivered more than half a million rounds of ammunition in 2026 alone, according to Macinka, helping stabilize the battlefield ahead of possible peace negotiations.
Macinka argued that maintaining a stable front is essential for meaningful negotiations, warning that shifting battle lines will only harden demands on both sides.
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Newly recruited soldiers of Ukraine’s 159th Separate Mechanized Brigade participate in integration and advanced training exercises in Kharkiv Oblast on May 14, 2026, after completing basic military training. (Yevhen Titov/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
With Washington increasingly focused on the Middle East, Macinka also said Europe must begin taking a larger diplomatic role in future negotiations over Ukraine.
“America is quite busy with the Middle East,” he said. “Europe should wake up and ask for a place at the table.”
World
War breaking news. Israel: two senior Hamas figures hit in northern Gaza. Iran, Trump: ‘No one will control the Strait of Hormuz’
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, the Pasdaran, claim that 25 ships have crossed the Strait of Hormuz in the last 24 hours
The seven Lao nationals had entered the cave in Xaisomboun province last week before heavy rain and a landslide blocked their exit.
Published On 27 May 2026
Rescue teams have recovered five of seven villagers who had been trapped for more than a week in a flooded cave in central Laos.
The quintet was found alive on Wednesday. Lao and Thai teams said that they were continuing the search for two others who remain missing.
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“We’ve found 5 people alive and all safe. There are still 2 people we are searching for,” a Laotian volunteer rescue group said in a social media post.
“At 4:30 pm [09:30 GMT], we found our target. We found five people. We are looking for the other two,” added Thai rescuer Kengkach Bangkawong in a separate post.
Thai volunteer rescuer Chakrakrit Taengtung posted a video on social media showing him and the five rescued villagers all cheering.
The video suggested that they were in good health and good spirits as they raised their arms in the air and smiled.
The seven Lao nationals entered the cave in Xaisomboun province last week. Shortly afterwards, heavy rain and a landslide blocked their exit, according to a local volunteer group and state-run Lao Phattana News.
A Thai volunteer group joined the rescue operation on Sunday. The team included a diver who took part in the 2018 rescue of 12 boys and their football coach from a flooded cave in northern Thailand, an operation that drew global attention and involved divers from across the globe.
Videos shared online showed that reaching the cave’s entrance required a steep hike of roughly 4 kilometres (2.5 miles). The entrance is also steep and rocky, and barely wide enough for a single person to climb through.
There has been no official confirmation on why the villagers went into the cave. However, rescuer Bounkham Luanglath, from the Lao organisation Rescue Volunteer for People, said the cave was frequented by local residents looking for gold, even though authorities had repeatedly warned of safety concerns.
Lines of Londoners outside public pools and ponds. Water mists dousing tennis spectators at the French Open. Commuters packed in stifling public transportation.
And summer hasn’t even started.
Several countries in Western Europe baked under record-breaking heat this week, far earlier than normal, prompting governments to warn about health risks. Heat waves in Europe have become more frequent and more severe in recent years, and scientists have repeatedly attributed that to a rise in global temperatures, driven mainly by the burning of coal, oil and gas.
One study by climate scientists on Tuesday concluded that the extraordinary temperature spikes “are primarily attributed to human driven climate change.”
In France, seven people died in circumstances linked to the heat wave since Saturday, officials said. In Britain, three teenagers drowned in separate incidents, the police said. The unseasonable temperatures came after an abnormally hot 2025 in Europe.
Britain
Temperatures recorded on Monday at Kew Gardens in Greater London climbed to 34.8 degrees Celsius, or nearly 95 degrees Fahrenheit, provisionally setting a record for the highest May temperature and the highest temperature ever recorded during meteorological springtime, which covers March to May.
The new record didn’t last long. On Tuesday, temperatures climbed to 35.1 degrees Celsius, or 95.2 degrees Fahrenheit.
“Too hot for me,” is how Sam Worth, 34, described it as he joined a long line of people seeking respite at a public pool in London.
Britain’s official weather service described the latest heat as “unprecedented for the time of year.” The previous record of 32.8 degrees Celsius, just over 91 degrees Fahrenheit, stood for decades after being recorded in 1922 and 1944.
By Tuesday, the majority of England and Wales were officially in what Britain defines as a heat wave.
“I’m very glad we’re not teaching this week because the children would be struggling,” Phoebe Thomson, a schoolteacher in London said.
Schools are on a midterm break in Britain this week, but they may have to consider loosening uniform rules and administering exams in air-conditioned rooms if the heat continues, Ms. Thomson said.
Many in Britain live without air conditioning.
The average high temperatures for May in the country hover at around 15 degrees Celsius, or 59 degrees Fahrenheit — meaning the heat wave hit when few would expect it. Extreme heat can lead to heat strokes, and people with chronic conditions like hypertension and kidney disease are especially vulnerable.
The U.K. Health Security Agency issued an amber heat health alert — the second-highest level — warning of significant effects across health and social care services, including a rise in deaths, particularly among seniors.
“Our ability to control temperature is much less efficient,” Lucia Daniels, 72, said after dipping into her local pool. She was careful to stay in the shade on her walk home, where she planned to spend the rest of the day “like a lizard,” with curtains drawn and windows closed.
France
Parts of western France broke heat records for May on Monday, according to the national weather service, which warned that temperatures were expected to remain high through the rest of the week.
Temperatures over the weekend climbed as much as 13 degrees Celsius, or 23.4 degrees Fahrenheit, above seasonal norms, the national weather service said, adding that it was “remarkable” for being so early, intense and prolonged.
Seven people in the country have died directly or indirectly because of the current heat wave, including five drownings, Maud Bregeon, the French government spokeswoman, told the TF1 news channel.
At the French Open in Paris, players endured stifling heat on the court and spectators tried to cool off with water misters.
Celine Yahiaoui, 49, a clerk at a Paris court, said she had to commute on a stuffy train with inconsistent cooling and wished she could work from home.
“It’s suffocating,” she said. “We don’t sleep, we struggle to get hydrated.
Spain
Across Spain, a country no stranger to scorching temperatures, an unusually early heat wave has left locals struggling. Temperatures in the southwest are forecast to reach 40°C in the coming days. In the central city of Valladolid, there was a sea of empty outdoor tables —usually a sight reserved for the height of summer — as people avoided the sun. And in Madrid, the capital, residents were bracing for an early summer.
“It looks like we are deep in July,” said Ángeles Ruiz, 60, a nurse sheltering from the broiling heat in the shade of an empty Plaza de Olavide with her two grandchildren.
Ms. Ruiz, 60, said that climate change was upending an old Spanish saying that “you shouldn’t pack away your winter clothes until the ‘40th of May’” — meaning early June.
“Well, that saying makes no sense anymore,” she said.
Elsewhere
Asia has been grappling with record-breaking heat as well. Daytime temperatures were above 45 degrees Celsius, or 113 degrees Fahrenheit, across central and northern India over the past two weeks. In Pakistan, temperatures through Thursday are forecast to be up to six degrees Celsius, or 10.8 degrees Fahrenheit, above seasonal averages.
Ségolène Le Stradic contributed reporting from Paris, Carlos Barragánfrom Madrid and Lauren Leatherby from London.
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