BRUSSELS (AP) \u2014 NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte declined to say Thursday whether President Donald Trump had repeated his threat to quit the military organization, saying only that the U.S. leader was disappointed in some allies for being too slow to help with the Iran war.<\/p>\n
Rutte\u2019s remarks came a day after he weathered a fresh ordeal<\/a> with the U.S. leader, following months of tensions over Trump\u2019s threats to seize Greenland<\/a>. The U.S.-Israel war on Iran does not involve the world\u2019s biggest military alliance and NATO allies were not consulted about it, but Trump has criticized fellow treaty members for their lack of support.<\/p>\n Since launching the war, Trump has derided U.S. allies as \u201ccowards,\u201d slammed NATO as \u201ca paper tiger\u201d and compared U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer to Neville Chamberlain, who is probably best remembered for a policy of appeasement toward Nazi Germany.<\/p>\n In recent days, the man who is as good as chairman of the NATO board suggested that the U.S. might leave. Trump already threatened to walk out in 2018 during his first term. His complaint now is that some allies ignored his call to help as Iran effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz<\/a>, a vital trade waterway.<\/p>\n After the talks with Rutte, the alliance\u2019s most powerful leader took to social media to show his annoyance. \u201cNATO WASN\u2019T THERE WHEN WE NEEDED THEM, AND THEY WON\u2019T BE THERE IF WE NEED THEM AGAIN,\u201d Trump posted.<\/p>\n Asked repeatedly since then whether Trump intends to take America out of NATO, Rutte has said little, but he has not denied that such a threat was made. \u201cI sensed his disappointment about the fact that he felt that too many allies were not with him,\u201d was all Rutte would say on Thursday.<\/p>\n Keeping America in<\/p>\n Rutte has earned a reputation as a \u201cTrump whisperer,\u201d notably helping to draw up a plan<\/a> that has seen European allies and Canada buy U.S. weapons for Ukraine, and keep the administration involved in Europe\u2019s biggest war in decades.<\/p>\n Indeed, one of his most demanding tasks since taking office in 2024 has been to keep the mercurial U.S. leader engaged in NATO, particularly as America has set its sights on security challenges<\/a> elsewhere, in the Indo-Pacific, Venezuela, and most recently Iran.<\/p>\n Rutte has used flattery, praising Trump for forcing allies to spend more on defense. He has congratulated the U.S. leader over the war and refrained from criticizing Trump\u2019s warning that \u201ca whole civilization will die\u201d should Iran not reopen the strait.<\/p>\n In a speech Thursday on America\u2019s role in NATO, Rutte said \u201callow me here to applaud President Trump for his bold leadership and vision.\u201d Rutte chided some allies for being \u201ca bit slow, to say the least,\u201d to help with Iran.<\/p>\n He declined to confirm reports that Trump is considering moving U.S. troops out of European countries that do not support the war, saying: \u201cI totally understand that over time the U.S. wants more and more to pivot towards the Indo-Pacific.\u201d<\/p>\n War launched by a NATO member, not at one<\/p>\n The striking thing about the war on Iran is that NATO has no role to play there. As a defensive alliance it has protected ally Turkey when Iranian missiles<\/a> were fired in retaliation at its territory, but the war was launched by a NATO member, not at one.<\/p>\n Rutte himself has said that NATO would not join the war, and there is no public confirmation that the U.S. had even raised the issue at the organization\u2019s Brussels headquarters, although it cannot be ruled out that the administration made a request on Wednesday for that to happen.<\/p>\n NATO declined to say whether security for the strait has been officially discussed and referred questions to the United Kingdom, which is leading an effort outside the alliance to make the trade route safe for shipping once the ceasefire is working.<\/p>\n Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said Thursday that his country is always ready to consider providing support through NATO to partners who request it there.<\/p>\n \u201cIf the U.S. or any other NATO ally is asking (for) our support, we are always read to discuss it,\u201d he told broadcaster CNBC. \u201cBut for that, we need of course the official ask to discuss then what is the mission, what is the goal.\u201d<\/p>\n If allies \u201cneed our support, then we need to plan together,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n NATO trying to stay out<\/p>\n Rutte himself insists that the alliance will only defend itself, and not become involved in another conflict outside of NATO territory, which is considered to be much of Europe and North America.<\/p>\n NATO has operated outside of the Euro-Atlantic area in the past, notably in Libya and Afghanistan. But there is no appetite to do so again given its chaotic U.S.-led exit<\/a> from Afghanistan in 2021, which former NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg described as a \u201cdefeat.\u201d<\/p>\n