Trump, in a stormy meeting with Rutte, vented frustration over NATO's inaction on Iran - Politico learned details
Kyiv • UNN
At a meeting with Mark Rutte, Donald Trump expressed frustration over the allies' passivity in the Strait of Hormuz. The US President hinted at possible sanctions.
US President Donald Trump expressed his disappointment with NATO allies at a tense meeting with Alliance Secretary General Mark Rutte on Wednesday and hinted that he was considering "retaliation" for the lack of support for the war with Iran, Politico reports, writes UNN.
Details
Rutte met with Trump behind closed doors as part of a long-planned visit, "which quickly turned into a life support mission" after the US president repeatedly threatened to withdraw from the alliance, amid countries like Spain and France refusing to support the American-Israeli conflict with Tehran, which reached a fragile ceasefire, the publication writes.
According to two European officials and a person familiar with the matter, who were briefed on the talks, Trump used the White House meeting as an opportunity to express his frustration with Europe's refusal to participate in the Iranian operation.
"Everything went wrong," said the first European official. "The conversation was nothing short of a tirade of insults." Trump "apparently threatened to do almost anything."
This official and a person familiar with the matter said Trump also hinted that he was considering "retaliation" options but did not elaborate.
The same two people and a third European official who spoke about the meeting said the US president gave those present the impression that he wanted concrete action from allies to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz as soon as possible.
However, a White House official said the US president made no demands on the Alliance in his conversation with Rutte.
"As President Trump said..., NATO has been tested and they have failed," a White House official said. "At this point, he has no expectations of NATO and has asked nothing of them, although the fact is that they benefit much more from the Strait of Hormuz than the United States."
After the meeting, the US president publicly criticized NATO allies and revived the specter of his Greenland campaign.
NATO spokeswoman Allison Hart told the publication that Rutte and Trump "had a very frank conversation" but dismissed claims that it went badly, calling it "constructive."
"I sensed his frustration with the fact that he felt too many allies were not with him," Rutte said at an event on Thursday.
A second European official said that despite the outward appearance of a contentious meeting, Rutte's visit was timely as it allowed Trump to vent. They argued that the US president's posts on Truth Social after the meeting were general and contained no specific threats of action to punish NATO or individual members.
"It's a downgrade compared to his other comments," one of the publication's interlocutors said. "It's still an unstable time, but the alliance was lucky he was there at that very moment."
According to two senior alliance diplomats, NATO countries at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels have not been briefed on the meeting, nor have they begun discussing the deployment of military equipment to resume operations in the strait.
US allies have repeatedly promised to help restore shipping along the critical choke point of the Strait of Hormuz, but only after a complete cessation of hostilities.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Thursday that he "urged" Trump to "seriously continue negotiations" on ending the war with Iran during a conversation with the US president on Wednesday.
"At the same time, I assured him that after a peace agreement, Germany would help ensure freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, provided there was a mandate and a viable plan for it," he told reporters. "We do not want this war, which has become a transatlantic stress test, to further exacerbate relations between the United States and its European NATO partners."
On Wednesday, French military commander General Fabien Mandon similarly stated that Paris was considering "strictly defensive" military options to provide assistance.
"Over the past week, we have hosted officers from various countries who have decided to participate in this initiative aimed at helping to restore maritime navigation," he said. "The planning phase is moving forward, with the common goal of promoting the safety of maritime navigation in this strategic area."
Last week, a 41-nation coalition led by the UK supported the idea of new sanctions and further diplomatic pressure on Iran over the closure of the critical strait, but made it clear that it would not provide military assistance while the conflict was ongoing.
Asked by the publication whether London planned to hold the next meeting, UK Defense Minister John Healey said on Thursday that he had nothing to announce "regarding any next steps or convening meetings."
Speaking in Washington on Thursday, Rutte defended the allies' response to the war with Iran, while trying to reassure the world that the alliance was not under threat, the publication notes.