U.S.-Europe Rift Widens As Trump Lashes Out At NATO Allies Over Mideast War

LONDON (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump says he is strongly considering withdrawing the United States from NATO, stepping up his criticism of European leaders and exposing a wider rift in the trans-Atlantic alliance — this time too. Iran war.

While Trump’s talk of a possible withdrawal from NATO dates back years, his comments, published Wednesday in the U.K. newspaper The Telegraph, were among the most graphic and insulting to date; This suggested that the crack had deepened, perhaps to the point of no return.

Asked whether the United States would reconsider membership in the alliance after the conflict in the Middle East ends, Trump said, “I would say that is beyond reconsideration.”

Congress passed a law in 2023 that would prevent any president from withdrawing from NATO without his approval. The Trump administration insisted during its first term that the president had such authority. It is unclear whether Trump will in any way oppose the new law, which includes the NATO provision, which is the first of its kind and was specifically championed by Trump’s secretary of state, Marco Rubio, who was a Florida senator at the time.

Efforts to strengthen America’s relationship with NATO are ongoing, with secretary-general Mark Rutte scheduled to visit Washington next week. Rutte’s visit was confirmed by a White House official who was not authorized to comment on the visit, which has not yet been officially announced, and spoke on condition of anonymity.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said his government was “fully committed to NATO” and described it as “the most effective military alliance the world has ever seen”.

Ahead of Trump’s speech later Wednesday, U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky, and Senator Chris Coons, Democrat of Delaware, said in a joint statement that “NATO is the most successful military alliance in history” and emphasized that the Senate “will continue to support the alliance for the peace and protection it has provided” to the United States, Europe and the world.

Many European leaders felt political pressure regarding the war. opposition in their own country Oil prices soared after Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway between Iran and Oman through which about one-fifth of the world’s oil passes.

Britain is working on plans that could help appease Trump, and Starmer said military planners would work on a post-war security plan for the Bosphorus.

On Thursday, British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper will host a virtual meeting of the 35 countries that have signed up to help secure shipping in the Bosphorus after hostilities end.

Iulia-Sabina Joja, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, referred to Trump’s advice to allies to “go buy your own oil” in a social media post on Tuesday. It was not America’s job to ensure the security of the Bosphorus.

“The Europeans are not willing to engage in an active combat situation to supposedly ‘extract’ their energy from the Bosphorus,” said Joba, former deputy project manager at NATO Allied Command Transformation in Virginia.

As energy prices soared, Trump called NATO allies “cowards” for not sending their military ships to the Bosphorus. It’s an amplified message from his first term that European partners must take greater responsibility for their own security.

“Unfortunately, I think we need to re-examine whether this alliance, which has served this country well for some time, is still serving that purpose,” Rubio said on Fox News on Tuesday.

Rubio questioned interviewer Sean Hannity about whether NATO “has become a one-way street where America can defend Europe, but when we need our allies’ help, they will deny us our basing rights and our overflight.”

The attrition of NATO could weaken the alliance’s deterrence. especially with Russia: Aims to limit conflict by making Russian President Vladimir Putin believe that NATO will retaliate if Moscow one day decides to expand its borders. war in Ukraine.

NATO was founded on Article 5 of the founding agreement, which promises that an attack on any member will be met with a response from all members.

Aspect Iran war The spread of the epidemic, the firing of missiles and drones at NATO member Türkiye and the British military base in Cyprus, has fueled speculation about what might prompt NATO to invoke its collective security guarantee and come to their rescue.

The alliance did not intervene or signal any such plans. Stating that he supports Trump and Washington’s role in the alliance, Rutte mostly focuses on the Russia-Ukraine war, as Ukraine neighbors four NATO countries.

NATO uniquely operates based on consensus. All 32 countries need to agree to make a decision, so political priorities play a role. Even implementing Article 5 requires agreement between allies. Türkiye or England cannot trigger this alone.

European leaders called for an end to the conflict in the Middle East and demanded that the United States and Iran return to talks on Tehran’s nuclear program, which Washington and Israel see as a threat.

Vocal opposition in Europe to Trump’s war against Iran has begun to turn into action.

Spain Closed airspace to US aircraft joined the war.

Early last month, France agreed to allow the US Air Force to use a base in southern France after receiving a “full guarantee” from the US that planes not involved in attacks on Iran would land there.

The government of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, long seen as one of the European Union leaders with the best personal ties to Trump, refused to allow U.S. bombers to land at Sigonella air base in Sicily on a Middle East-related mission.

Franco Pavoncello, a political science professor at John Cabot University in Rome, said the decision could cost Meloni much of his political capital in Washington.

However, he said, “The Italian government cannot be seen by European allies as being too subservient to American interests, as this would have very negative repercussions both at home and in the EU.”

US relations with Europe had already deteriorated in recent months over Trump’s call for Greenland (a semi-autonomous region of NATO ally Denmark) to become part of the US, prompting many to take action. EU countries will rally behind Copenhagen.

Jamey Keaten reported from Geneva. Lorne Cook in Brussels, Giada Zampano in Rome, Sam McNeil in Dubai, United Arab Emirates and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.