Are the United States preparing to leave NATO?
Donald Trump has sharply criticized European allies — primarily Italy, France, and Spain, as well as, to a lesser extent, Germany and the UK — for refusing to support the U.S. and Israel in a war against Iran:
“WE WILL REMEMBER THIS.”
He also stated that the U.S. has no oil shortage, and those who need it can either buy it from America or go and reopen the Strait of Hormuz themselves:
“The strait is open — just find the courage.”
Earlier, Marco Rubio said that the U.S. would reconsider its relationship with NATO after the war with Iran ends:
“We identified a serious threat to our national security and interests, and we had to act. But NATO member states — whom we are obligated to defend — refuse to grant us access to their airspace and bases, and even boast about it.
I have been a strong supporter of NATO. One of the reasons is that basing rights give us leverage, flexibility, and operational reach worldwide.
But if NATO is only about us defending Europe when it is attacked, while they deny us basing rights when we need them, that’s not a very good deal.
In such a situation, it becomes difficult to remain committed to the alliance and claim it benefits the United States. So all of this will have to be reviewed. Absolutely everything.”
However, Rubio is once again distorting reality.
NATO is a purely defensive alliance. Its members are not obligated to support offensive operations. They may provide assistance only if one of the member states is attacked — and only after consultations are formally invoked.
Iran did not attack the United States. The U.S., influenced by Israel, initiated military action against Iran — a country located over 10,000 kilometers away and posing no direct threat to the U.S. mainland.
At the same time, Iran represents a far more immediate potential risk for Europe.
What Washington demanded from European allies was access to their bases in order to launch an attack. By that logic, Belarus became a co-aggressor when Russia used its territory to attack Ukraine.
I have always said that, in terms of international behavior, the difference between the U.S. and Russia is often overstated. Both act like empires — disregarding rules when it suits them and enforcing them only when convenient.
As for the war with Iran and its timeline:
It is increasingly clear that the U.S. has failed to achieve its main objectives:
regime change in Tehran
dismantling Iran’s nuclear program
crippling its missile capabilities
destroying its navy
taking control over oil and gas flows
In reality, only partial damage has been inflicted on the fleet and some elements of the nuclear and missile programs. Everything else — effectively a failure.
Yet the White House spokesperson stated that Trump set a goal to complete the war within 4–6 weeks. Four weeks have already passed.
Today, media reports suggest Trump is ready to end the war by April 6 (within five weeks), even if the Strait of Hormuz remains under Iranian control and key objectives remain unmet — something he has effectively confirmed himself.
According to those same reports, Trump plans to declare that the actual objectives were limited to destroying Iran’s fleet, reducing missile stockpiles, and halting its nuclear program — and then announce victory.
After that, he intends to return to diplomatic pressure on Iran regarding the strait. If that fails, the pressure will shift onto Europe — forcing it to deal with the consequences.
If simplified, the situation looks like this:
An old man makes a mess in the middle of the street, blames his neighbor, runs home,and shouts that the neighbor should clean it up — or else he won’t be friends with him anymore🤡
Against this backdrop — and considering Trump’s relationship with Putin — I am almost certain he will attempt to undermine NATO.
And after that, he will likely lose control of Congress,face impeachment from Democrats, and possibly accusations ranging from corruption to even treason.
Will US under Trump leave the NATO
