Donald Trump met Mark Rutte on Wednesday (Image: Getty)
Donald Trump has slammed NATO once again - hours after holding a key meeting with the alliance's chief Mark Rutte. The US President lashed out at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization with a furious rant on Truth Social for failing to intervene in the Iran war.
"NATO WASN’T THERE WHEN WE NEEDED THEM, AND THEY WON’T BE THERE IF WE NEED THEM AGAIN. REMEMBER GREENLAND, THAT BIG, POORLY RUN, PIECE OF ICE!!! President DJT," Trump said in a post. Meanwhile, Rutte described his meeting to CNN with Trump as "very frank" and "very open", despite clear disagreements. "He is clearly disappointed with many NATO allies, and I can see his point," Rutte said.
Contradictory, Rutte said in his opinion only "some" NATO countries had failed to step up to help operations in Iran and "the large majority of Europeans" had been helpful.
Rutte argued the world is now “absolutely” safer, pointing to Trump’s leadership in diminishing Iran’s nuclear threat. He added that NATO members do not see the war in Iran as illegal, and the majority it was important to degrade Iran's nuclear capabilities.
Ahead of the talks on Wednesday, Trump debated with the idea of quitting NATO after members informed him they were unwilling to take part in the country’s military operation and resisted his calls to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
The White House did not provide details about the discussion. Relaying his message the White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said NATO was "tested and failed".
Leavitt told reporters it was "quite sad that NATO turned their backs on the American people over the course of the last six weeks, when it's the American people who have been funding their defence".
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She then shut down claims from from Iran that the Strait of Hormuz had been closed over Israeli attacks on the regime's proxy terror groups in Lebanon.
Leavitt insisted they had seen "an uptick of traffic in the strait today". Iran earlier on Wednesday warned that Trump's ceasefire deal could go up in flames after giving a Washington an ultimatum that no peace talks will succeed while Israel continues fighting with terrorists in Lebanon.
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English (US) · 