Iran War Sparks Trump's Fury at NATO, Major Threat Looms!

Relations between the US government and its NATO ally are currently strained. US President Donald Trump is reportedly disappointed with NATO for not sending ships to the Strait of Hormuz. Trump has even stated that he is considering withdrawing from the alliance. “Wouldn’t you do the same if you were me?” Trump asked, quoted from Reuters on Friday (3/4/2026). In his speech on Wednesday (1/4/2026) evening, Trump criticised NATO. His comments have triggered unprecedented concerns that the US will not assist European allies if they are attacked, regardless of whether Washington officially withdraws or not. As a result, analysts and diplomats see NATO, which has long served as the bedrock of European security, as eroding, with the mutual defence treaty at its core no longer considered a certainty. “This is the worst condition (for NATO) since it was founded,” said Max Bergmann, a former State Department official who now directs the Europe, Russia, and Eurasia Programme at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, quoted on Friday (3/4/2026). “It’s very hard to think of anything that even comes close to this,” he added. As recently as February, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte dismissed the idea of Europe defending itself without the US as “foolish thinking.” Now, many officials and diplomats view it as a standard expectation. “NATO is still necessary, but we must be able to think about NATO without America,” said General Francois Lecointre, who served as chief of the French armed forces from 2017 to 2021. “Whether NATO should even continue to be called NATO - the North Atlantic Treaty Organization - is a valid question.” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said, “President Trump has clearly expressed his disappointment with NATO and other allies, and as the President has emphasised, ‘The United States will remember it.’” This is not the first time Trump has threatened to withdraw from NATO. During his first administration, he also considered pulling out of the alliance. Trump is also supported by officials who have expressed disappointment over what they see as NATO’s reluctance to help the United States when needed, including not directly assisting in the Strait of Hormuz and restricting the use of some US airbases and airspace. US officials have stated that NATO cannot be a “one-way street.” European officials counter that they have not received a US request for specific assets for the mission to open the strait and complain that Washington has been inconsistent about whether the mission would operate during or after the war. “This is a terrible situation for NATO,” said Jamie Shea, a former senior NATO official who is now a senior researcher at the think tank Friends of Europe. “This is a blow to allies who, since Trump returned to the White House, have worked hard to show that they are willing and able to take on more responsibility (for their own defence).” Trump’s latest comments follow other signs of an increasingly unstable alliance. Nevertheless, legally, Trump may not have the authority to withdraw from NATO. Under a 2023 law, a US president cannot exit the alliance without two-thirds approval from the US Senate, a threshold that is nearly impossible. But analysts say that, as commander-in-chief, Trump can decide whether the US military will defend NATO members. Refusing to do so could jeopardise the alliance without an official withdrawal. Next week, NATO Secretary General Rutte, who has a strong relationship with Trump, is scheduled to visit Washington in an effort to change Trump’s view once again. Analysts say European countries have good reason to remain engaged with the US in NATO despite doubts about whether Trump would defend them. Among other reasons, the US military provides a range of capabilities that NATO cannot easily replace, such as satellite intelligence. Even if Trump and European countries find a way to stay together in NATO, diplomats, analysts, and officials say the transatlantic alliance that has been the centrepiece of the global order since the Second World War may never be the same again. “I think we are turning the page on 80 years of cooperation,” said Julianne Smith, the US ambassador to NATO under Democratic President Joe Biden, quoted on Friday (3/4/2026). “I don’t think this means the end of the transatlantic relationship, but we are on the cusp of something that will have a different look and feel.”