Iran War Takes a Back Seat! Trump Rages at NATO, Issues This Threat
Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - US President Donald Trump is reportedly considering drastic steps to “punish” NATO members who refuse to help Washington in the war against Iran. Although a two-week ceasefire has been announced, tensions between the two countries continue to flare across various fronts.
A report on Thursday (9/4/2026) indicates that Trump is currently devising a plan to withdraw US military forces from European NATO member states. This threat is specifically aimed at countries that have closed their airspace to US fighter jets or restricted the use of military bases for strikes on Iran.
Trump even vented his anger through the Truth Social platform with a post in all capital letters. He accused the defence alliance of abandoning the United States at a critical moment.
“NATO ISN’T THERE WHEN WE NEED THEM, AND THEY WON’T BE THERE IF WE NEED THEM AGAIN. REMEMBER GREENLAND, THAT BIG ICE BLOCK MANAGED POORLY!!!” Trump wrote.
He then alluded to Greenland. The territory belonging to NATO ally Denmark has previously been the target of Trump’s “aggression” threats several times.
“REMEMBER GREENLAND, THAT BIG ICE ISLAND MANAGED POORLY!!!” he added, without further explanation.
Trump’s statement came amid his meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte on Wednesday evening, which was held behind closed doors. When asked several times whether Trump had said he would leave the alliance, Rutte did not answer directly.
“It was a very honest and open discussion,” Rutte later told CNN International in a television interview, as reported by AFP.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters ahead of the meeting that the possibility of troop withdrawal was “something the president has discussed” and “something the president will discuss in the next few hours with Secretary-General Rutte”.
Previously, Trump had called NATO a “paper tiger” for refusing to lead efforts to open the strategic Strait of Hormuz and for limiting US forces from using bases in their territories. Trump has personally attacked several leaders, criticising UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer as “not Winston Churchill” and mocking the British aircraft carrier as a “toy.”