Trump told NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Wednesday he was disappointed that alliance members did not back the US military campaign against Iran, saying Washington had "demolished" Iran without needing assistance. Rutte defended allies, noting that 4,000-5,000 US aircraft operated from bases in Europe during the conflict.
US President Donald Trump told NATO chief Mark Rutte on Wednesday he was "let down" by members of the transatlantic alliance who did not back his war against Iran.
"We were let down. We didn't need help on this at all. We demolished (Iran) literally in the first week but it would have been nice if they would have said, 'We'd like to help,'" Trump said during a meeting with Rutte in the Oval Office of the White House.
For his part, Rutte defended the conduct of NATO countries, saying there were 4-5,000 "US planes taking off from bases in Europe" during the war.
The NATO chief then told journalists after the meeting that Trump is "completely committed to the NATO alliance," and said Washington would "absolutely" protect Europe in case of attack.
Rutte's comments drew the ire of Iran with foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei on Thursday condemning the NATO chief's admission of "active complicity" in the "unlawful war".
"This is a clear and damning admission of NATO's active complicity in an unlawful war of aggression against a sovereign UN Member State," Baqaei wrote on X.
He accused NATO of "a flagrant violation of peremptory norms of international law and the core principles of the UN Charter".
Italy was quick to distance itself from Rutte's words, which the defence ministry said gave "a completely misleading message by confusing the type of flights that were authorised".
It said Italy had allowed only "technical and logistical" US flights during Epic Fury under existing agreements with the United States.
Read moreEurope leaders reaffirm unity on defence ahead of Ankara NATO summit
Trump's criticism of NATO comes just two weeks before leaders from the 32 member nations are set to meet for a July 7-8 summit in the Turkish capital of Ankara.
The United States and Israel jointly attacked Iran on February 28. Trump did not consult NATO ahead of time and key European allies have voiced skepticism over the need for war.
Trump's second term has been marked by tensions with NATO allies, including over Greenland, which the US president threatened to annex before backing down in January after weeks of threats.
Washington has also been clear with Europe that it wants NATO allies on the continent to take over primary responsibility for their own conventional defense as Washington's focus shifts towards China.
As part of that process, the Pentagon has already told allies it is reducing the number of assets worldwide that it makes available for NATO operations.
The US move has sparked fear it could leave Europe vulnerable in the face of an aggressive Russia as allies still rely on Washington for some key weaponry.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
