NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, addressing member states, said that US President Donald Trump wants to see firm, immediate, concrete commitments from the transatlantic bloc to help secure the Strait of Hormuz, following the ceasefire agreement between US, Israel, and Iran.
The request, shared after Rutte’s meeting with Trump at the White House, comes at a moment when the vital waterway remains only partially reopened under the ambit of a highly-fragile ceasefire, with disruptions in energy flows creating increasing uncertainty.
Rutte, speaking publicly after the meeting, said that Trump was “clearly disappointed with many NATO allies” for their refusal to join the US-Israel war against Iran. “I can see his point,” Rutte added.
Trump himself has been very vocal in his criticism of the bloc, bashing the organisation since the beginning of the war, calling all member states “cowards” and dismissing the alliance as a “paper tiger”, without Washington’s aid.
After meeting Rutte, he wrote on Truth Social “NATO WASN’T THERE WHEN WE NEEDED THEM, AND THEY WON’T BE THERE IF WE NEED THEM AGAIN.”
Reiterating his criticism today, Trump, in a show of his increased frustration with NATO wrote “None of these people, including our own, very disappointing, NATO, understood anything unless they have pressure placed upon them!!!”
Member states, noting the increasing strain with the US, noted that Washington had jointly launched its campaign against Tehran with Tel Aviv’s support without feeling the need to even hold consultation with NATO partners, only seeking their involvement after operations were already underway. For many European governments, that sequence has complicated any immediate commitment.
Estonia’s Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna, speaking to CNBC, said, “If the U.S. or any other NATO ally is asking (for) our support, we are always ready to discuss it … But for that, we need of course the official ask to discuss then, what is the mission, what is the goal?”
Planning, he suggested, cannot be improvised. “If allies need our support, then we need to plan together.”
