The US president has demanded that members must make commitments to help address the loss of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz \u2018within days\u2019 according to Bloomberg<\/p>\n
US President Donald Trump has lashed out at NATO over the inaction of European allies during the war with Iran.
\nTrump, according to sources close to bloc chief Mark Rutte who spoke to Bloomberg, has issued an ultimatum to its members demanding a commitment to help secure the Strait of Hormuz \u201cwithin days.\u00a0\u201d
\n\u201cNATO WASN\u2019T THERE WHEN WE NEEDED THEM, AND THEY WON\u2019T BE THERE IF WE NEED THEM AGAIN,\u201d Trump posted on Thursday on his social media platform Truth Social.
\nTrump\u2019s anger follows weeks of criticism of European NATO members for what he sees as their refusal to support the US-Israeli war on Iran. Spain has refused outright to allow US planes use its bases, while Germany and the UK have refused to condemn Trump or Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, claiming only \u201cthis is not our war.\u201d
\nRutte described the exchange as a \u201cvery frank, very open\u201d discussion between \u201ctwo good friends.\u201d He said in a Thursday interview with CNN, however, that Trump was \u201cclearly disappointed\u201d that US allies had refused to take part in the Iran war. Asked multiple times if Trump had said if he would leave the alliance, Rutte did not answer directly.<\/p>\n
“Is the world safer today than it was before the war was started?”Secretary-General of NATO, Mark Rutte: “Absolutely, and this is thanks to President Trump’s leadership” pic.twitter.com\/jjOWexNsOg\u2014 Glenn Diesen (@Glenn_Diesen) April 9, 2026 <\/p>\n
Rutte has faced a barrage of criticism in Europe for his perceived deference toward Trump. During a joint press appearance last year, he jokingly called the US president \u201cDaddy,\u201d drawing media attention and ridicule.
\nAhead of the latest meeting, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told journalists that a possible US withdrawal from the bloc is \u201csomething the president has discussed.\u201d She also said that Trump could raise the issue with Rutte.<\/p>\n
READ MORE: NATO without America? A slow shift is already underway<\/p>\n
Last week, US War Secretary Pete Hegseth said the future of NATO was uncertain, and that Washington is currently unable to reaffirm its commitment to collective defense. He cited Trump as saying that \u201cyou don\u2019t have much of an alliance if you have countries that are not willing to stand with you when you need them.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The US president has demanded that members must make commitments to help address the loss of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz \u2018within days\u2019 according to Bloomberg US President Donald…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":32871,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32870","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t