Trump criticises NATO allies over Iran conflict, demands greater loyalty
US President Donald Trump criticised several NATO allies for failing to support Washington during the Iran conflict, while reiterating demands for higher defence spending. NATO chief Mark Rutte defended European contributions and praised Trump's handling of the Iran crisis.
Washington: President Donald Trump has said several NATO allies had “let us down” during the conflict with Iran and declared that while the United States did not need military assistance, it expected greater loyalty from its partners.
Speaking alongside NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the White House on Wednesday (local time) ahead of next month’s NATO summit in Ankara, Trump said the United States had acted decisively in Iran but was disappointed by the response of some European allies.
“We were let down. We didn’t need help on this at all. We demolished them in literally the first week, but it would have been nice if they would have said, ‘We’d like to help,'” Trump said.
He singled out several allies, saying, “I was disappointed with Italy. I was disappointed with the UK… We were disappointed with Germany and France. We were disappointed with most of them.”
Rutte acknowledged there had been “a reason for disappointment” in some cases but argued they were “isolated cases”. He stressed that European countries had provided critical logistical support through bilateral arrangements with Washington.
“I would argue, it would have been very difficult to do Iran without having Europe as a power projection platform for the United States,” Rutte said, noting that “between 4,000 and 5,000 US planes” had taken off from European air bases during the conflict.
Trump also renewed pressure on NATO members to raise defence spending.
“The big question is, are they paying the five per cent? They agreed six months ago… to pay five per cent. And for the most part, they’re not paying,” he said.
Rutte defended the alliance’s progress, saying Germany, Poland, Denmark, the Baltic states and other allies were sharply increasing defence budgets. He credited Trump’s leadership with driving the increase in military spending across Europe and Canada.
The President said his primary expectation from allies was not financial support.
“I just want their loyalty. We don’t need their money, we don’t need anything. We have the most powerful military in the world by far, but I just want loyalty,” Trump said.
The meeting also focused heavily on Iran. Rutte praised Trump’s handling of the crisis, saying preventing Tehran from obtaining nuclear weapons was vital for global security.
“I really want to make clear how important it is, what you are doing in Iran,” Rutte said. “Iran having its hands on the nuclear capability… would be a danger to the whole world.”
Trump said negotiations with Tehran were progressing.
“We’re doing great in our negotiations with Iran,” he said, adding earlier in the day that “Iran is making very big concessions.”
Asked whether he would accept any future agreement allowing Iran to impose fees on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, Trump replied: “It would be unacceptable to me… I wouldn’t allow it there either.”
The President also spoke warmly of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ahead of the NATO summit in Ankara.
“He’s a friend of mine,” Trump said. “He loves Turkey… and he’s doing a great job.”
On Turkey’s long-pending request for F-35 fighter aircraft, Vice President JD Vance said the administration was reviewing whether all legal requirements had been met.
“We’re running the traps and confirming that’s happened. This is really a congressional thing, and ensuring that Turkey has complied with American law,” Vance said.
Asked about Ukraine, Trump said President Volodymyr Zelensky was “doing pretty well” and was “holding his own”, while describing him as “courageous”.
The NATO summit in Ankara on July 7-8 is expected to focus on implementing last year’s agreement for allies to work towards investing 5 per cent of GDP on defence and security by 2035, alongside strengthening defence industrial production and continued support for Ukraine. NATO leaders have also maintained that Iran must never acquire a nuclear weapon.
