{"id":45285,"date":"2026-04-09T01:50:39","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T01:50:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=45285"},"modified":"2026-04-09T01:50:39","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T01:50:39","slug":"trump-mulls-punishing-nato-countries-that-didnt-assist-iran-war-effort-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=45285","title":{"rendered":"Trump mulls punishing NATO countries that didn&#8217;t assist Iran war effort: report"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>President Trump is reportedly weighing a plan to punish NATO allies that refused to assist the US in the war with Iran.<\/p>\n<p>Under the proposed plan, the Trump administration would pull US troops out of NATO countries that were unhelpful with Operation Epic Fury, the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/world\/europe\/trump-weighs-punishing-certain-nato-countries-over-lack-of-iran-war-support-a2361995?st=STr1gu&amp;reflink=article_copyURL_share\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Wall Street Journal<\/a> reported on Wednesday, citing Trump administration officials.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><button class=\"button button--modal-trigger\" aria-label=\"Open the image in a modal.\" data-modal-image=\"39032116\"><br \/>\n\t<svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"icon-plus\" fill=\"#fff\" viewbox=\"0 0 1033 1000\" width=\"1em\" height=\"1em\"><path d=\"M380 364V0h273v355h380v290H653v355H380V645H0V355h380v9z\"\/><\/svg><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<figcaption>Trump is reportedly weighing punishing NATO countries that refused to help with airstrikes against Iran. <span class=\"credit\">Kyle Mazza\/TheNews2\/INSTARimages<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><button class=\"button button--modal-trigger\" aria-label=\"Open the image in a modal.\" data-modal-image=\"39032119\"><br \/>\n\t<svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"icon-plus\" fill=\"#fff\" viewbox=\"0 0 1033 1000\" width=\"1em\" height=\"1em\"><path d=\"M380 364V0h273v355h380v290H653v355H380V645H0V355h380v9z\"\/><\/svg><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<img fetchpriority=\"high\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.49926794;display:block\" decoding=\"async\" data-modal-image=\"39032119\" width=\"885\" height=\"590\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/shakes-hands-nato-secrertary-general-125235696_6b395e.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"US Secretary of State Marco Rubio shakes hands with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.\" class=\"wp-image-39032119\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/shakes-hands-nato-secrertary-general-125235696_6b395e.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 5420w, 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https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/shakes-hands-nato-secrertary-general-125235696_6b395e.jpg?resize=231,154&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 231w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/shakes-hands-nato-secrertary-general-125235696_6b395e.jpg?resize=322,215&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 322w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/shakes-hands-nato-secrertary-general-125235696_6b395e.jpg?resize=662,441&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 662w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/shakes-hands-nato-secrertary-general-125235696_6b395e.jpg?resize=90,60&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 90w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/shakes-hands-nato-secrertary-general-125235696_6b395e.jpg?resize=120,80&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 120w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/shakes-hands-nato-secrertary-general-125235696_6b395e.jpg?resize=1200,800&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 1200w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/shakes-hands-nato-secrertary-general-125235696_6b395e.jpg?resize=1038,692&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 1038w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/shakes-hands-nato-secrertary-general-125235696_6b395e.jpg?resize=87,58&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 87w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/shakes-hands-nato-secrertary-general-125235696_6b395e.jpg?resize=50,33&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 50w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/shakes-hands-nato-secrertary-general-125235696_6b395e.jpg?resize=150,100&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 885px) 100vw, 885px\"\/><figcaption>The plan would see the US pull troops from NATO countries. <span class=\"credit\">AFP via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The plan is one of several being considered by the White House to punish members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, according to the outlet.<\/p>\n<p>Trump has recently threatened to reassess US membership in NATO over the alliance\u2019s lack of assistance with the Iran war and reopening the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-primary-tag\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>\u201cNATO WASN\u2019T THERE WHEN WE NEEDED THEM, AND THEY WON\u2019T BE THERE IF WE NEED THEM AGAIN,\u201d Trump posted on Truth Social Wednesday night. \u201cREMEMBER GREENLAND, THAT BIG, POORLY RUN, PIECE OF ICE!!! President DJT\u201d<\/p>\n<p>NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte met with Trump at the White House on Wednesday amid the tension.<\/p>\n<p>The White House did not immediately respond to The Post\u2019s request for comment.<\/p>\n<p>Some 84,000 US troops are stationed across Europe in US bases that boost local economies, serve as a hub for global US military operations and deter Russian aggression, according to the Journal.<\/p>\n<p>The plan under consideration could see a US base shuttered in Spain or Germany, two administration officials said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Spain\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/03\/30\/us-news\/spain-closes-airspace-to-us-planes-involved-in-iran-war-defense-minister\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">closed its airspace<\/a>\u00a0to US warplanes involved in the Iran operation.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier described the Iran war as a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/german-president-warns-trumps-return-marks-profound-rupture-transatlantic-ties-2026-03-24\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u201cdisastrous mistake\u201d<\/a>\u00a0and accused the US of violating international law.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>European nations that could benefit from additional US troops, which would be repositioned from the countries they\u2019re pulled out of, include Poland, Romania, Lithuania and Greece, the officials said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Those nations are viewed by the Trump administration has having been supportive of the war effort.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Romania, for example,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.stripes.com\/theaters\/europe\/2026-03-11\/us-romania-airbase-iran-21025925.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">allowed the US Air Force<\/a>\u00a0to use its bases for Iran missions.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Ahead of the Trump-Rutte meeting, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters the idea of the US withdrawing from the alliance has been talked about.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s something the president has discussed, and I think it\u2019s something that the president will be discussing in a couple of hours with the secretary-general,\u201d Leavitt said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>She went on to share a statement from Trump on NATO: \u201cThey were tested, and they failed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Leavitt called it \u201cquite sad that NATO turned their backs on the American people over the course of the last six weeks, when it\u2019s the American people who have been funding their defense.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A NATO spokesperson said Trump and Rutte \u201chad a frank discussion on a range of issues related to our shared security, including in the context of Iran.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Secretary General underscored the importance of Allies continuing to step up to deliver a stronger, fairer Alliance,\u201d the spokesperson added.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/04\/08\/world-news\/trump-mulls-punishing-nato-countries-that-didnt-assist-iran-war-effort-report\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>President Trump is reportedly weighing a plan to punish NATO allies that refused to assist the US in the war with Iran. Under the proposed plan,&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":45286,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-45285","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45285","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=45285"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45285\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/45286"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=45285"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=45285"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=45285"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}