U.S.
Trump ‘disappointed’ in NATO over lack of support for Iran war
Stars and Stripes
March 17, 2026
President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting at the White House with Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin on March 17, 2026. (Alex Brandon/AP)
President Donald Trump criticized NATO’s lack of participation in operations against Iran during comments at a White House meeting with Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin.
“Well, I’m disappointed in NATO, that we spend trillions of dollars on NATO,” the president said when asked by a reporter about whether he is rethinking the U.S. relationship with NATO, including the possibility of leaving the alliance. “It’s one of the reasons we have deficits and we help other countries, and then they don’t help us. I mean, it’s certainly something that we should think about.”
He added that “I don’t need Congress for that decision,” but also said, “when you say, rethink, I’m not. I have nothing currently in mind, but I will say that I’m not exactly thrilled.”
The president also said that he’s not afraid a ground invasion of Iran would be a repeat of the Vietnam War, and that the U.S. is not ready to leave Iran now but will do so “in the very near future.”
Earlier in the day, Trump posted on Truth Social that the U.S. “has been informed by most of our NATO ‘Allies’ that they don’t want to get involved” with the war on Iran. His post also said that because the U.S. has had military success in Iran, “we no longer ‘need,’ or desire” assistance from NATO countries or from Japan, Australia and South Korea.
The Tuesday morning post came after Trump in recent days called for allies to support the U.S. in protecting transit through the Strait of Hormuz.
The president on Saturday said “many countries” would be sending warships to help the U.S. secure the strait and also he hoped other countries — including China — would assist. He reiterated the sentiment in a Sunday interview with the Financial Times, in which he called for NATO support and described the issue as a litmus test for the reliability of the alliance.
“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 president had said.
Later on Tuesday, the U.S. deployed 5,000-poud deep penetrator munitions at Iranian missile sites near the Strait of Hormuz, according to a U.S. Central Command post on X. “The Iranian anti-ship cruise missiles in these sites posed a risk to international shipping in the strait,” CENTCOM said in the post.
Most U.S. allies thus far have largely stayed out of the fray. The United Kingdom and Romania have allowed the U.S. to use bases on their soil to launch attacks on Iran, while Spain’s prime minister said he would block U.S. access to Spanish bases for Iran missions.
NATO dispatched a missile defense team to Turkey last week after several Iranian missiles entered Turkish airspace, and France in early March dispatched an aircraft carrier to the Mediterranean, citing concerns over the safety of fellow European Union member state Cyprus.
Stars and Stripes reporter John Vandiver contributed to this report.