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Jack Keane calls out NATO's weakness as shipping crisis grips Strait of Hormuz
By Max Bacall
Published March 19, 2026
As the U.S. escalates its fight against Iran with bunker-buster bombs designed to hit deeply buried missile storage sites, retired Gen. Jack Keane slammed NATO allies for their initial lack of support on "Hannity," but said that "the Europeans have started to get the message."
Keane said on Wednesday "these social democracy countries" have "absolutely decapitated their defense budgets" to pay for what he called "entitlement programs" over the course of decades.
The Callisto tanker sits anchored as the traffic is down in the Strait of Hormuz, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Muscat, Oman, March 10, 2026. (Benoit Tessier/Reuters)
Their handouts and open border policies led to serious issues, he continued, ultimately setting the conditions for strongmen like Russian President Vladimir Putin to move in.
"What did Russia look at? He [Putin] sees vulnerabilities. He sees American weak leadership. He doesn't see the Europeans standing up here. And he takes advantage of the situation and invades Ukraine," said Keane.
US BUNKER-BUSTER BOMBS HAMMER IRANIAN ANTI-SHIP MISSILE SITES NEAR STRAIT OF HORMUZ
The looming threat of Putin and pressure from President Donald Trump have led America's European allies to begin rebuilding their defenses, Keane contended, though he said it would take some time to accomplish.
He expressed frustration at allies' initial reluctance to help escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for global oil and gas transport that supplies roughly one-fifth of the world’s crude oil and has been targeted by Iran.
Most shipping traffic has been halted since early March, after the war started. About 20 vessels have been attacked in the area.
Volunteers clean debris from a residential building damaged when a nearby police station was hit Friday in a U.S.-Israeli strike in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, March 15, 2026. (Vahid Salemi/AP Photo)
"It's very frustrating to see something like that happen when we need help. It's not that we can't escort these ships down the Straits of Hormuz. Of course, we know how to do that," he said.
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The United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Japan released a joint statement Thursday expressing their willingness to help secure the Strait of Hormuz, proving Keane's prediction that some countries will "come forward and do what they should have done right from the beginning" to be true.
"We express our readiness to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait. We welcome the commitment of nations who are engaging in preparatory planning," it read.
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"It's not going to start immediately," he said. "We want to remove that threat and bring the risks down to something that's quite manageable."
The conflict with Iran began on February 28, 2026, with the launch of Operation Epic Fury, a joint U.S.-Israeli campaign targeting the Iranian security apparatus.
Fox News Digital's Stephen Sorace contributed to this report.
https://www.foxnews.com/media/jack-keane-calls-out-nato-allies-failing-step-up-strait-hormuz-crisis