US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Donald Trump is disappointed that NATO allies did not become more actively involved in attacking Iran, setting the stage for a potentially tense alliance summit in July.
Speaking at a meeting of NATO foreign ministers, Rubio emphasized that he expects the rift to be discussed at the July summit in Ankara, calling it “one of the more important” meetings in the alliance’s 77-year history.
“The president’s views – frankly, disappointment – at some of our Nato allies and their response to our operations in the Middle East, they are well documented,” Rubio said upon arrival for the meeting in Helsingborg.
“That will have to be addressed. That won’t be solved or addressed today. That’s something for the leaders level to discuss,” he said, amid fresh US demands for help in forcing open the Strait of Hormuz if peace talks with Iran fail to progress.
After the meeting, Rubio said he discussed with his counterparts the possibility of NATO countries providing military assistance. “We have to have a plan B for if someone is shooting, then how do you reopen the straits?” Rubio said. “I don’t know if that would be a Nato mission necessarily, but it would certainly be Nato countries that can contribute to it.”
The UK and France have offered to lead a multinational air and naval force to maintain security for merchant shipping in the Strait of Hormuz once the US and Iran reach a peace deal or establish a well-defined ceasefire.
US troop numbers in Europe are also expected to decrease from 80,000 following a review reflecting broader commitments, Rubio emphasized, though the exact size of the cut remains unclear amid contradictory statements from the White House.
“I think it’s well understood in the alliance that the United States’ troop presence in Europe is going to be adjusted,” Rubio said after the foreign ministers’ meeting, stressing that the US had been consulting European NATO members on the matter.
“I’m not saying they’re going to be thrilled about it, but they certainly are aware of it, and you know, we have obligations in the Indo-Pacific, we have obligations in the Middle East, we have obligations in the western hemisphere,” he added.
At the beginning of the month, the US announced it would withdraw 5,000 troops from Germany, as Trump reacted angrily to comments from Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who said Iran was humiliating the US in peace talks.
Last week, the Pentagon said it would halt the rotation of an additional 4,000 troops into Poland, only for Trump to apparently reverse that decision Thursday night on social media in a hasty announcement that seemed to catch the Pentagon off guard.
Trump posted: “Based on the successful Election of the now President of Poland, Karol Nawrocki, who I was proud to Endorse, and our relationship with him, I am pleased to announce that the United States will be sending an additional 5,000 Troops to Poland.”
Other NATO allies acknowledged that erratic White House policy changes left them struggling to keep pace. Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard described the situation as “confusing indeed, and not always easy to navigate.”
The US secretary of state said after the meeting that while he had “long been an advocate for Nato,” one argument he had made was that US “bases in the region” provided the military with “logistical options that we wouldn’t otherwise have.”
“When some of those bases are denied to you during a conflict that we’re involved in, then you question whether that value is still there,” Rubio said, adding that the topic would be discussed in Ankara.
No other NATO member participated in the 38-day attack on Iran, and none has so far expressed readiness to force open the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has blockaded, though some countries provided limited assistance.
Spain refused to allow US bases in the country or its airspace to be used for strikes on Iran, while France permitted only air tankers and support aircraft to operate from the Istres air base in the south.
The UK allowed the US Air Force to bomb Iranian missile launchers and other military assets obstructing the strait from Fairford in Gloucestershire, the most extensive support any European country provided for US bombing missions.
Earlier this year, Trump also demanded Greenland from Denmark, another NATO member, but he dropped the proposal after international lobbying and an agreement to establish an Arctic air patrol mission to deter potential Russian military activity.
📝 This article was rewritten with AI assistance based on content from
The Guardian.
Rubio: Trump ‘disappointed’ with NATO allies over Iran stance ahead of summit
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Donald Trump is disappointed that NATO allies did not become more actively involved in attacking Iran, setting the stage for a potentially tense alliance summit in July.
Speaking at a meeting of NATO foreign ministers, Rubio emphasized that he expects the rift to be discussed at the July summit in Ankara, calling it “one of the more important” meetings in the alliance’s 77-year history.
“The president’s views – frankly, disappointment – at some of our Nato allies and their response to our operations in the Middle East, they are well documented,” Rubio said upon arrival for the meeting in Helsingborg.
“That will have to be addressed. That won’t be solved or addressed today. That’s something for the leaders level to discuss,” he said, amid fresh US demands for help in forcing open the Strait of Hormuz if peace talks with Iran fail to progress.
After the meeting, Rubio said he discussed with his counterparts the possibility of NATO countries providing military assistance. “We have to have a plan B for if someone is shooting, then how do you reopen the straits?” Rubio said. “I don’t know if that would be a Nato mission necessarily, but it would certainly be Nato countries that can contribute to it.”
The UK and France have offered to lead a multinational air and naval force to maintain security for merchant shipping in the Strait of Hormuz once the US and Iran reach a peace deal or establish a well-defined ceasefire.
US troop numbers in Europe are also expected to decrease from 80,000 following a review reflecting broader commitments, Rubio emphasized, though the exact size of the cut remains unclear amid contradictory statements from the White House.
“I think it’s well understood in the alliance that the United States’ troop presence in Europe is going to be adjusted,” Rubio said after the foreign ministers’ meeting, stressing that the US had been consulting European NATO members on the matter.
“I’m not saying they’re going to be thrilled about it, but they certainly are aware of it, and you know, we have obligations in the Indo-Pacific, we have obligations in the Middle East, we have obligations in the western hemisphere,” he added.
At the beginning of the month, the US announced it would withdraw 5,000 troops from Germany, as Trump reacted angrily to comments from Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who said Iran was humiliating the US in peace talks.
Last week, the Pentagon said it would halt the rotation of an additional 4,000 troops into Poland, only for Trump to apparently reverse that decision Thursday night on social media in a hasty announcement that seemed to catch the Pentagon off guard.
Trump posted: “Based on the successful Election of the now President of Poland, Karol Nawrocki, who I was proud to Endorse, and our relationship with him, I am pleased to announce that the United States will be sending an additional 5,000 Troops to Poland.”
Other NATO allies acknowledged that erratic White House policy changes left them struggling to keep pace. Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard described the situation as “confusing indeed, and not always easy to navigate.”
The US secretary of state said after the meeting that while he had “long been an advocate for Nato,” one argument he had made was that US “bases in the region” provided the military with “logistical options that we wouldn’t otherwise have.”
“When some of those bases are denied to you during a conflict that we’re involved in, then you question whether that value is still there,” Rubio said, adding that the topic would be discussed in Ankara.
No other NATO member participated in the 38-day attack on Iran, and none has so far expressed readiness to force open the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has blockaded, though some countries provided limited assistance.
Spain refused to allow US bases in the country or its airspace to be used for strikes on Iran, while France permitted only air tankers and support aircraft to operate from the Istres air base in the south.
The UK allowed the US Air Force to bomb Iranian missile launchers and other military assets obstructing the strait from Fairford in Gloucestershire, the most extensive support any European country provided for US bombing missions.
Earlier this year, Trump also demanded Greenland from Denmark, another NATO member, but he dropped the proposal after international lobbying and an agreement to establish an Arctic air patrol mission to deter potential Russian military activity.
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