Trump warns NATO faces “very bad future” if allies refuse to back US war on Iran

US President Donald Trump has warned that NATO faces a “very bad” future if its members refuse to support Washington’s efforts in Iran, according to the Financial Times.

In remarks published by the FT, Trump said it was “only appropriate that people who are the beneficiaries of the Strait will help to make sure that nothing bad happens there,” as he pressed allies to assist in reopening the Strait of Hormuz after it was effectively shut amid the US-Israeli war on Iran.

Trump added: “If there’s no response or if it’s a negative response, I think it will be very bad for the future of NATO.”

The comments amount to an open attempt to pressure NATO states into joining a war that the US and Israel launched against Iran, a conflict widely seen as unnecessary and destabilising for the wider region. However, NATO members have so far rejected Trump’s request, exposing fresh strains within the alliance over Washington’s expanding military campaign.

Trump also tried to frame the issue through the lens of Ukraine, complaining that the US had supported its allies there and should now expect the same in return. “We have a thing called NATO,” he said. “We’ve been very sweet. We didn’t have to help them with Ukraine. Ukraine is thousands of miles away from us… But we helped them. Now we’ll see if they help us.”

That comparison is likely to fall on deaf ears in much of Europe. In Ukraine, Russia is widely seen by NATO governments as the aggressor. In the case of Iran, by contrast, it is the US and Israel that are widely viewed as having waged an unnecessary war.

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Trump made clear that he wanted more than political backing. “Whatever it takes,” he said when asked what kind of support he expected from allies. He also complained specifically about Britain’s response. “The UK might be considered the number one ally, the longest serving et cetera and when I asked for them to come, they didn’t want to come,” said Trump.

He continued: “I’ve long said that NATO is a one-way street.”

Trump also boasted about the scale of the assault on Iran, saying: “We’re hitting them very hard,” and claimed, “We’ve essentially decimated Iran.”

Trump’s remarks came as he also pressed China to help secure the waterway and suggested he could delay a planned summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping if Beijing failed to respond.

Read: In humiliation for US, Iran sending oil to China through Hormuz