Donald Trump hit out at NATO yesterday for its failure to intervene in the war in Iran, even as Secretary General Mark Rutte praised him for agreeing a two-week ceasefire.
The President had asked member nations of the alliance to send warships to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil supply passes. But none of the member nations sent their ships.
'NATO WASN'T THERE WHEN WE NEEDED THEM AND THEY WON'T BE THERE IF WE NEED THEM AGAIN,' Trump posted on his Truth Social media platform.
It came hours after White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt relayed his message that NATO was 'tested and failed'.
He then seemed to make a veiled threat about Greenland, a territory he has repeatedly sought to take over.
'REMEMBER GREENLAND, THAT BIG, POORLY RUN, PIECE OF ICE,' Trump said.
The President's post came after a scheduled meeting with Rutte, in which he was expected to bring up the possibility of the US leaving the defence bloc.
Yet Rutte, who infamously called Trump 'daddy' at a summit last year, took on a conciliatory tone as he praised him for the ceasefire agreement in Iran.
The NATO Secretary General told CNN that Trump was 'clearly disappointed' by his allies refusal to send help, adding: 'He clearly told me what he thought of what happened over the last couple of weeks.'
When anchor Jake Tapper asked if Rutte believed the world is safer today than before the war started at the end of February, the NATO leader said: 'Absolutely... this is thanks to President Trump's leadership.'
But Rutte declined to comment on whether Trump had expressed any desire to leave NATO, telling CNN: 'It is a nuanced picture.'
He then went on to explain that degrading Iran's nuclear capabilities is 'really important for yours and my safety here in the US, in Europe and in the Middle East'.
Trump has long been at odds with NATO and last week warned that he was strongly considering pulling the US out of the 'paper tiger' bloc.
He said: 'I was never swayed by NATO. I always knew they were a paper tiger, and Putin knows that too, by the way.'
And yesterday, The Wall Street Journal reported that the US was planning on punishing certain NATO members for refusing to support its war against Iran.
The outlet said the Trump administration was considering repositioning some of the 84,000 American troops stationed in Europe and may even close a US base in at least one EU nation, possibly Spain or Germany.
A spokesman for NATO has since told the Daily Mail that Rutte and Trump 'had a frank discussion on a range of issues related to our shared security, including in the context of Iran.
'The Secretary General underscored the importance of Allies continuing to step up to deliver a stronger, fairer Alliance,' they said.
Leavitt told reporters yesterday she thought 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'.
'Withdrawing from NATO... is something that the President will be discussing in a couple of hours with [Rutte] and perhaps you'll hear directly from the President following that meeting,' she said earlier in the day.
Leavitt then went on to dispel claims from Iran that the Strait of Hormuz had been closed over Israeli attacks on the regime's proxy terror groups in Lebanon.
'We have seen an uptick of traffic in the strait today,' Leavitt said, noting that there was a difference between what Iran said publicly versus privately.
Two tankers were allowed through the strait this morning as the two-week ceasefire commenced, Iran's semi-official Fars news agency reported, though it later said passage had been suspended 'simultaneous with Israel's attacks on Lebanon'.
Leavitt noted that 'Lebanon is not part of the ceasefire.'
At the same time, Iran threatened to destroy oil tankers if they try to travel through the Strait without permission, as the regime has imposed a toll of up to $2 million per vessel.
Saudi Arabia's East-West oil pipeline, a critical artery routing crude from the Gulf to the Red Sea, came under drone attack at 1pm local time, the Financial Times reported.
Kuwait's air defences intercepted 28 drones in sustained attacks targeting oil facilities, power plants and water desalination infrastructure from 8am yesterday, the country's army said, adding that strikes were still ongoing.
There were also reports of explosions rocking Tehran, which Leavitt declined to comment on, pending information from Trump's national security team.
American and Iranian authorities are now set to meet in Islamabad on Saturday to iron out a more permanent end to the war.
As part of the deal, Iran publicly released what it claimed was a ten-point peace plan, demanding the US accept Tehran's continued control over the Strait, recognise its right to uranium enrichment, lift all sanctions, pay compensation and withdraw all troops from the region.
Trump is now facing a furious backlash from his most fervent supporters over the ceasefire and ten-point peace plan, with some fearing it concedes too much to Tehran. The White House forced to clarify his claims about the terms of the deal.
The President has previously described Iran's plan as 'a workable basis on which to negotiate,' only for a White House official to say the points in the released plan did not match what Trump had in mind.
Trump then seemed to contradict his own team, saying most points had 'been fully negotiated' while leaving the door open to resuming strikes if the deal fell apart.
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham demanded JD Vance appear before Congress to explain the terms of the agreement after the dovish Vice President spearheaded 11th-hour peace talks mediated by Pakistan.
'The supposed negotiating document, in my view, has some troubling aspects, but time will tell,' Graham posted on X.
'I look forward to the architects of this proposal, the Vice President and others, coming forward to Congress and explaining how a negotiated deal meets our national security objectives in Iran.'
