EXPLAINER<\/p>\n
Trump says he is considering a NATO exit as allies resist cooperation in US-Israel war on Iran. Here are the fractures emerging within the alliance.<\/p>\n
United States President Donald Trump\u2019s already fraught relationship with NATO allies is fraying further as the US-Israel war on Iran<\/a> is in its second month. A growing number of partners are resisting Washington\u2019s requests for support in the conflict, deepening a transatlantic rift.<\/p>\n From the deployment of naval forces to the Strait of Hormuz to the use of military bases in Europe, Trump wants more support from US allies. But their responses remain lukewarm and so does the Trump administration\u2019s enthusiasm for them.<\/p>\n Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list<\/p>\n \u201cI always knew they were a paper tiger,\u201d Trump lashed out in an interview<\/a> published on Wednesday in The Telegraph newspaper, saying he was strongly considering pulling out of NATO.<\/p>\n The same sense of disdain towards the allies was echoed a day earlier by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who told Al Jazeera<\/a> that if the transatlantic alliance was \u201cjust about defending Europe\u201d but not the other way around, that\u2019s \u201cnot a very good arrangement\u201d. That, Rubio said, is going \u201cto have to be re-examined\u201d.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s get into the details of the growing rift.<\/p>\n What allies have denied access to their military bases? Reluctance in joining the war efforts among US allies was also evident after Trump\u2019s repeated requests to help Washington in securing the opening of the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway through which about a fifth of global oil and gas exports pass. Thanks to its geography, Iran has been able to bring traffic through the narrow chokepoint to a near-total halt by carrying out relatively few attacks on vessels there.<\/p>\n Italy, the UK, France, Greece and other countries have all responded with a flat no to the request of joining a naval coalition to open the strait. German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius gave his country\u2019s reasoning behind such a position: \u201cThis is not our war. We have \u2060not started it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDoes \u2026 Trump expect a handful or two handfuls of European frigates to do in the Strait of Hormuz what the powerful \u2060US Navy cannot do?\u201d<\/p>\n Still, some countries do have the capacity to help, such as support in minesweeping. Starmer said London was discussing with other allies the possibility of using its mine-hunting drones already in the region.<\/p>\n But that\u2019s not what Trump wants.<\/p>\n \u201cAll of those countries that can\u2019t get jet fuel because of the Strait of Hormuz, like the United \u2060Kingdom, which refused to get involved in the decapitation of Iran, I have a suggestion for you: Number 1, buy from the U.S., we have plenty, and Number 2, build up some delayed courage, go to the Strait, and just TAKE IT,\u201d Trump wrote<\/a> on his Truth Social account this week.<\/p>\n Experts warned that comments from Trump and his cabinet members suggest mounting anger that could also take hold of the followers of the president\u2019s Make America Great Again, or MAGA, movement.<\/p>\n \u201cThese things can accumulate momentum in Trump\u2019s mind within the MAGA community,\u201d Samir Puri, a visiting lecturer on war studies at King\u2019s College London, told Al Jazeera, referring to what he described as \u201cvisceral anger voiced by Trump towards the UK and other European allies but also by [Defense Secretary] Pete Hegseth.\u201d<\/p>\n As a result of the tensions over the war on Iran, he said, \u201cThe bond of NATO weakens further.\u201d<\/p>\n Could NATO allies really say no?<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s suggestion that allies should solve the de facto blockade in the Strait of Hormuz has added to concerns that he might be willing to end the war with Iran in control of the waterway. \u201cWhat happens in the strait, we\u2019re going to have nothing to do with,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n Should that happen, NATO allies along with the rest of the world would face even greater economic repercussions.<\/p>\n Already, the slowdown in marine traffic through the waterway has caused major disruptions to the global economy with shipping companies afraid of attacks if they send their vessels through.<\/p>\n
\nSpain, the most vocal European opponent of the war, said<\/a> on Monday that the country\u2019s airspace is closed to US military planes involved in the conflict. \u201cI think everyone knows Spain\u2019s position. It\u2019s very clear,\u201d Defence Minister Margarita Robles said. Spain said last month that the US could not use jointly operated military bases in the war, which Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has described as \u201cunjustifiable\u201d and \u201cdangerous\u201d. In response to that, Trump threatened to cut trade with Madrid<\/a>.
\nOn Tuesday, Italy\u2019s newspaper Corriere della Sera reported that the Italian government denied US bombers the use of a military base in Sicily. The Italian government, though, rushed to make it clear there were no tensions with Washington and that each US request would be considered on a case-by-case basis.
\nThe United Kingdom has allowed US bombers to use military bases on its territory but only for defensive missions, such as striking Iranian military sites involved in attacks on British interests. On Wednesday, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in an address to the nation: \u201cThis is not our war. We will not be drawn into the conflict. That is not in our national interest.\u201d
\nThe US president has also hit out at France, saying it was \u201cVERY UNHELPFUL\u201d after Paris refused to allow planes \u201cloaded up with military supplies\u201d and \u201cheaded to Israel\u201d to fly over French territory. Sources told the Reuters news agency the refusal was made as Israel wanted to use France\u2019s airspace to transport US weapons to be used in the war against Iran.
\nAnd Poland\u2018s defence minister, Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, said on Tuesday that his country, which borders Ukraine, had \u201cno plans\u201d to relocate its Patriot air defence systems to the Middle East. \u201cPoland\u2019s security is an absolute priority,\u201d he wrote on X<\/a>.
\nThe split over the Strait of Hormuz<\/p>\n