US President Donald Trump’s latest salvo against NATO allies for not backing America’s war against Iran and the threat to quit the Western military alliance is among the most critical warnings he has issued till now. It comes after several NATO allies declined Washington’s requests to offer support in the conflict, which has deepened the transatlantic fallout.
Trump has demanded more aid from NATO allies- ranging from the use of military bases in Europe to the deployment of naval forces in the Strait of Hormuz. But the allies have responded in a tepid manner, and the Trump administration has been attacking them over the lukewarm response to Iran’s conflict.
Talking about the NATO membership with the UK’s The Telegraph newspaper, Trump said, “I always knew they were a paper tiger,” and fumed over the allies’ reluctance to back the US’ Operation Epic Fury, saying he was strongly considering pulling out of NATO.
The Trump administration has also been echoing the same sense of disdain towards the Western military alliance, when Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Al Jazeera that if NATO is “just about defending Europe and not the other way around, then it’s not a very good arrangement.”
NATO allies denying access to military bases
Spain: Madrid, which is one of the most vocal European opponents of the West Asia conflict, on Monday announced that it has closed its airspace for any Washington plane involved in the US-Israel war in Iran. Spain had already said last month that the US wouldn’t be able to use jointly operated military bases in the war.
UK: Britain has said that the United States can use the military bases on its territory, but clearly defined the purpose, which involves defensive missions, like attacking Iran’s military sites, which are involved in attacks on British interests. UK PM Keir Starmer on Wednesday said, “This is not our war. We will not be drawn into the conflict. That is not in our national interest.”
Italy: The Italian government has allegedly also restricted US military planes from using the Sigonella air base in Sicily before flying to the Middle East, an Italian government official confirmed to Politico. However, the Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto clarified that it was “simply false” that Italy had blocked all access to the bases.
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France: President Emmanuel Macron-led administration blocked the military planes, which are “loaded up with military supplies and headed to Israel”, from using French territory for its operations. Trump had hit out at Paris for being “very unhelpful.”
The divide over Strait of Hormuz
One of the key waterways for the passage of about 20% of global oil and gas exports, the Strait of Hormuz has become a bone of contention in the West Asia conflict, and Iran has been able to effectively choke the strategic waterway after the US-Israel started carrying out strikes from February 28.
The Trump administration proposed a naval coalition which could lead to opening the strait; however, France, the UK, Greece, Italy and other nations responded with a direct no to Washington’s request.
Defending the decision, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said, “This is not our war. We have not started it. Does…Trump expects a handful or two handfuls of European frigates to do in the Strait of Hormuz what the powerful US Navy cannot do?”
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