‘Why Should We Be There?’ Trump Slams NATO Over Iran War, Signals US May Not Come To Its Defence

Last Updated:March 28, 2026, 06:37 IST

Donald Trump expressed frustration over what he described as a lack of assistance from NATO partners in securing the Strait of Hormuz.

US President Donald Trump on Friday (local time) again traded his guns at NATO over its lack of support to Washington in war with Tehran, warning that the US may reconsider its longstanding security commitments if NATO member countries do not step up support in the Middle East.

While speaking at an investment forum in Miami, the US President expressed frustration over what he described as a lack of assistance from NATO partners in securing the Strait of Hormuz, a critical maritime route disrupted amid the ongoing US-Israeli conflict with Iran.

European allies were not consulted by the US on its ​decision to attack Iran late last month, and many leaders in the ⁠alliance ⁠opposed the action.

“Why would we be there for them if they’re not there for us? They weren’t there for us. We spend hundreds of billions of dollars a year on NATO, hundreds, protecting them, and we would have always been there for them, but now, based on their actions, I guess we don’t have to be, do we?" he said.

Since the start of the US-Israeli offensive against Iran a month ago, Trump has repeatedly voiced frustration over Western allies’ lack of support and reluctance to commit forces to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a key sea lane for Gulf oil and gas exports vulnerable to Iranian attacks.

While major powers including Britain, France, Germany and Japan have expressed willingness to contribute to “appropriate efforts," none have committed military forces.

Trump has had a famously on-again-off-again relationship with the alliance, and he has at various points made comments that provoked questions about his willingness to adhere to NATO’s Article 5, which states an attack against one member state is an attack on all.

Last week, he dubbed its members “COWARDS," and declared the alliance was a “paper tiger" without the United States.

On Thursday, he said on his Truth Social platform that the United States “needs nothing from NATO."

“NATO nations have done absolutely nothing to help with the lunatic nation, now militarily decimated, of Iran."

On the campaign trail in 2024, Trump famously encouraged Russian President Vladimir Putin to attack European NATO countries that did not pay their fair share on ⁠defense.

His relationship with several European leaders, however, appeared to improve over the course of 2025.

But Washington-Brussels relations again soured in 2026 after Trump ramped up his threats to invade Greenland, which is an overseas territory ​of Denmark.

(With inputs from agencies)

News world ‘Why Should We Be There?’ Trump Slams NATO Over Iran War, Signals US May Not Come To Its Defence

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