In the latest criticism of NATO amid the US-Iran war—following earlier rebukes over the Strait of Hormuz—President Donald Trump accused allies of failing to support US strikes on Iran. Posting on social media that 'NATO WASN’T THERE WHEN WE NEEDED THEM,' he met NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte while threatening to withdraw US troops or exit the alliance, after a fragile ceasefire was announced this week.
President Donald Trump on Wednesday and Thursday escalated his attacks on NATO allies via social media, claiming the alliance was absent during the recent US strikes against Iran that preceded this week's fragile ceasefire. He wrote, 'NATO WASN’T THERE WHEN WE NEEDED THEM,' referenced past tensions like the Greenland dispute, and accused partners of needing 'pressure placed upon them' to act. Trump threatened to pull US troops from countries refusing to back operations, such as sending warplanes to bomb Iran, and reiterated that NATO is a 'paper tiger.' These comments came during his meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, building on prior frustrations expressed in March over allies' reluctance to secure the oil-choked Strait of Hormuz.
