U.S. President Donald Trump told NATO secretary‑general Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday that he felt “let down” by members of the alliance for not backing his military action against Iran.
“We were let down. We didn’t need help on this at all. We demolished Iran literally in the first week, but it would have been nice if they had said, ‘We’d like to help,’” Trump said during a meeting in the Oval Office.
Stoltenberg defended NATO members, noting that 4,000‑5,000 U.S. aircraft had taken off from European bases during the operation.
After the meeting, Stoltenberg told reporters that Trump remains “completely committed to the NATO alliance,” and affirmed that Washington would “absolutely” defend Europe if attacked.
Trump’s criticism comes two weeks before the NATO summit of the 32 member states scheduled for July 7‑8 in Ankara, Turkey.
The United States and Israel launched the strike on Iran on February 28. Trump did not seek NATO consultation beforehand, and several European allies expressed doubts about the necessity of the war.
The president’s second term has featured ongoing tensions with NATO partners, including a brief episode in which he threatened to annex Greenland before backing down in January.
Washington has also urged European NATO members to assume greater responsibility for their conventional defense as the United States pivots its strategic focus toward China.
In line with that shift, the Pentagon has informed allies that it is reducing the number of assets worldwide available for NATO operations.
The move has raised concerns that Europe could become more vulnerable to Russian aggression, given its continued reliance on U.S. weaponry.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
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