President Trump said Wednesday that he was seriously considering pulling the U.S. out of NATO in the latest sign of his growing frustration at Washington’s allies, as Iran vowed to restrict access to the Strait of Hormuz for any U.S. ships even after the war’s conclusion.
In an interview with Britain’s Telegraph newspaper, Mr. Trump said he was “never swayed” by NATO and considered the 77-year-old alliance to be a “paper tiger.”
Pressed on whether he was considering pulling the U.S. from the alliance after the Iran war, Mr. Trump said the issue is “beyond reconsideration.”
Mr. Trump made the remarks hours before delivering a prime-time address to the nation with an “important” announcement on the Iran war.
The comments underscore the president’s growing frustration with Washington’s long-standing allies over what he sees as a lackluster support on many issues, Iran being merely the latest.
Mr. Trump said he views NATO’s reluctance to assist in Iran as a betrayal because the U.S. has helped Ukraine during its 4-year-old war with Russia. He told The Telegraph that he expected NATO to assist the U.S. in Iran.
“Beyond not being there, it was actually hard to believe. And I didn’t do a big sale. I just said, ‘Hey, you know,’ I didn’t insist too much. I just think it should be automatic,” he said.
Last month, Mr. Trump called on European and Asian partners to commit significant military assets to the Middle East to force open the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic waterway that Iran has kept effectively closed since the start of the war.
Most countries declined to participate in the initiative. They said they would assist in defensive measures only once hostilities had concluded.
The U.S. has been a NATO member since its formation in 1949, with the primary aim of combating Soviet aggression. The cornerstone of the alliance is Article 5, which requires all members to respond to an attack on any of its members.
European leaders have argued that the Iran war does not constitute a defensive war to protect a member’s territory and thus would not trigger Article 5.
That article has been invoked only once in the alliance’s history, by the United States in 2001 in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Wars such as Argentina’s 1982 invasion of the Falkland Islands and India’s 1961 conquest of Goa did not lead Britain or Portugal to invoke Article 5.
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Other members of the Trump administration, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, have voiced similar frustration with NATO allies for not committing enough resources to the Iran war.
Spain and France refused this week to allow U.S. warplanes to fly through their airspaces, in the most explicit European rejection of Washington’s war effort so far. Mr. Trump threatened to end all trade with Spain over the decision and harshly critiqued France for obstructionism.
“France has been VERY UNHELPFUL with respect to the ‘Butcher of Iran,’ who has been successfully eliminated! The U.S.A. will REMEMBER!!!” Mr. Trump posted.
Trump touts Iran proposal
Mr. Trump announced Wednesday that Iran’s president had requested a ceasefire with the U.S. but he would consider the proposal only after the Strait of Hormuz is reopened.
“Iran’s New Regime President, much less Radicalized and far more intelligent than his predecessors, has just asked the United States of America for a CEASEFIRE! We will consider when Hormuz Strait is open, free, and clear,” Mr. Trump said on Truth Social.
“Until then, we are blasting Iran into oblivion or, as they say, back to the Stone Ages!!!” he added.
It is unknown whether Mr. Trump was referring to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian or someone else. Mr. Trump asserted earlier this week that his administration was communicating with a “third regime” in Iran that was much more receptive after the first and second regimes were eliminated.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry firmly denied Mr. Trump’s assertion that it had offered a ceasefire, according to state-affiliated media, calling it “false and baseless.”
Mr. Pezeshkian issued a statement “to the American people” that proposed a diplomatic solution to the conflict.
“Today, the world stands at a crossroads,” Mr. Pezeshkian wrote. “The choice between confrontation and engagement is both real and consequential; its outcome will shape the future for generations to come.”
Notably, Mr. Pezeshkian did not provide a diplomatic timeline, nor did he mention the Strait of Hormuz, which other Iranian officials have maintained will remain closed until a peace deal is achieved.
On Tuesday, Mr. Pezeshkian told the president of the European Council, Antonio Costa, that his country would consider a ceasefire agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz only after receiving guarantees from Washington that strikes would not resume during negotiations. His comments were publicized on social media, prompting markets to spike.
Also Tuesday, Mr. Trump said the U.S. could end the Iran conflict in two to three weeks. He said the war could end sooner if Iran pushes to make a deal.
“We’re finishing the job, and I think within maybe two weeks, maybe a couple of days longer to do the job, but we want to knock out every single thing there,” Mr. Trump told reporters at the White House.
Meanwhile, reports indicate that the Pentagon has drawn up plans for possible ground incursions in Iran, including operations that could seize Kharg Island. The aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush is expected to join a growing naval armada in the Middle East this week.
At least 13 U.S. service members have been killed since the start of the war, and U.S.-Israeli strikes have killed nearly 2,000 people and injured and displaced thousands more in Iran. Iranian attacks have killed dozens across the Persian Gulf and in Israel.
Iran profits from strait
Iranian officials made it clear Wednesday that the Strait of Hormuz would not be open to U.S.-linked vessels for the foreseeable future and would be accessible only to countries that adhere to the Islamic republic’s rules for the waterway.
Ebrahim Azizi, chair of Iran’s Supreme National Security Committee, said the strait will be reopened to the rest of the world eventually, “but not for Trump.”
“Trump reached his dream of regime change, but in the maritime order of the region,” Mr. Azizi said.
His comments are perhaps the clearest articulation yet of Iran’s postwar strategy for the Strait of Hormuz. At least 20% of the world’s oil and liquid natural gas passes through the strait each year, and its closure has sent massive shock waves through global markets.
Iranian officials have asserted that the strait remains open, but not to vessels linked to Tehran’s enemies. That seems to include tankers carrying oil and liquid natural gas from the Persian Gulf’s Arab states, which Iran has attacked with drones and missiles.
An Iranian cruise missile slammed into an oil tanker off Qatar’s coast without fatalities on Wednesday, according to the Qatari Defense Ministry. A day earlier, a Kuwaiti oil tanker was attacked off the coast of Dubai.
The United Arab Emirates and Kuwait also reported Iranian attacks on civilian sites on their territory. Jordan and Saudi Arabia claimed to have intercepted Iranian drones and missiles over their skies.
Several ships linked to Pakistan and China have reportedly passed through the strait safely over the past month. Both nations are frequent importers of Iranian oil. China alone is buying up 90% of Iran’s exports.
The Iranian government looks to systematize control over the strait with a fee system after the war.
Yahya Al-e Es’hagh, head of the Iran-Iraq Joint Chamber of Commerce, said the fee system could generate $70 billion to $80 billion a year for Iran. He said his country could collect “at least” a 10% fee from each ship traveling through the strait.
Iran’s parliament is considering legislation to establish an official fee system for the strait that would provide an additional revenue stream for the Islamic republic after the war.
Several vessels, including those linked to China, may have paid Iran an impromptu $2 million fee to safely traverse the strait last month.
• Mike Glenn, Jeff Mordock and Kerry Picket contributed to this report.
• Vaughn Cockayne can be reached at vcockayne@washingtontimes.com.
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