Trump says NATO allies failed to support US during Iran conflict

US President Donald Trump said he held constructive talks with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte ahead of the NATO summit in Ankara, where alliance leaders discussed increasing military spending and expanding NATO’s defense plans.

Speaking alongside Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Trump said the United States carried out airstrikes on Iran the previous night. He repeated that Iran must not be allowed to obtain nuclear weapons and said talks with Tehran had taken too much time, adding that the US had to take action.

Trump said he had been “testing” NATO allies to see whether they would support the United States during its confrontation with Iran. He claimed several European countries, including Italy, Germany, and France, failed to stand with Washington despite years of US military and financial support.

He questioned why the United States spends hundreds of billions of dollars on NATO while some allies, according to him, do not support the US when needed. Trump also criticized the alliance, saying he was unhappy with NATO and suggested the US should not have to carry most of the burden alone.

The US president called the killing of Qassem Soleimani during his first term a major achievement. He also accused Iran of being responsible for the deaths of thousands of US soldiers and innocent people.

Reports said the Pentagon is considering measures against allies based on their level of support during the conflict with Iran. Spain is reportedly facing possible action after refusing to allow the use of its military bases, ports, and airspace for strikes on Iran.

However, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said thousands of US military missions were launched from European bases during the conflict, including hundreds of flights from facilities in Italy. He said between 4,000 and 5,000 flight missions were carried out from European locations.

Italy said it did not authorize direct attacks on Iran from its territory and that any support provided was limited to technical and logistical assistance. Iran rejected that explanation, saying such support made Italy directly involved in the military operation.

At the summit, the United States urged NATO members to increase defense spending to 5% of their gross domestic product by 2035. Leaders also announced new military contracts worth at least $50 billion covering aircraft, drones, missile systems, surveillance equipment, satellites, and ammunition.

Trump also said Greenland remains an important issue for the United States and argued that it should not have been given up.