Trump meets NATO chief Mark Rutte as alliance tensions rise over Iran

President Donald Trump will meet with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the White House on Wednesday, just as transatlantic relations within the alliance are frayed during US operations in Iran.

Trump has repeatedly threatened to withdraw the United States from NATO and accused European countries of blocking access to bases and providing limited assistance to the Iranian offensive known as Operation Epic Rage.

Despite having a good relationship with the NATO chief, who once called him the “father” of the alliance, Trump said he viewed NATO as a “one-way street.”

In a March 31 Truth Social post, he told the alliance: “You will have to start learning how to fight for yourselves, just like you are not there for us, the US will no longer be there to help you.”

AS HEGSETH INCREASES HESITATIONS, TRUMP PRESSES NATO PARTNERS FOR SUPPORT

Foreign Minister Marco Rubio, who also met with Rutte on Wednesday, recently told Fox News: “After this conflict is over, we will have to re-examine this relationship. We will re-examine the value of NATO for our country in this alliance.”

The Spanish Prime Minister closed Spanish airspace to all aircraft involved in attacks against Iran (including US bombers departing from the UK) and denied the US use of its bases within the country, Naval Station Rota and Morón Air Base, for any combat, refueling or staging missions related to the Iran conflict.

French President Emmanuel Macron gives a speech while visiting the Istres military air force base in southern France on Thursday, January 15, 2026. (Philippe Magoni/AP)

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni speaks at a joint statement at the end of consultations with the Italian-German government in Rome, January 23, 2026. (Remo Casilli/Reuters)

FORMER NATO AMBASSADOR SAYS WE AND OUR ALLIES SHOULD ‘STOP THE TURN OF CONTENTION’ AND UNITE TO END THE IRAN CONFLICT

President Emmanuel Macron blocked Israeli planes from using French airspace to carry US-made munitions for the war in Iran.

Meanwhile, Finnish President Alexander Stubb told Trump in a phone call that a “more European NATO” was taking shape.

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European countries felt the blow of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, an important waterway for natural gas supplies, and expressed disappointment that they were not consulted before the Iran conflict began.

“I am not a commentator on an operation that the Americans decided solely with the Israelis,” Macron told reporters on April 2. “They may later regret not being supported in an operation that they decided on their own. This is not our operation.”