Trump angrily criticized NATO allies as "stupid", stating that the United States doesn't need any assistance

On Tuesday (March 17th), US President Trump met with visiting Irish Prime Minister Martin at the White House. He strongly criticized the "foolish" stance of NATO allies on the issue of Iran, expressing his disappointment with NATO and stating that the US does not need any assistance.

According to reports from Bloomberg and Xinhua News Agency, Trump said to the media reporters in the Oval Office: "NATO is making a very stupid mistake." "I want to know if NATO will support us. So this is a good test because we don't need them, but they should have been there." He said: "The United States must remember this because we think it is very shocking."

Trump said that he proposed escorting ships through the Strait of Hormuz, but most of the US allies rejected it. He claimed that the US had invested "trillions of dollars" in NATO over the years, which was one of the reasons for the US's fiscal deficit. However, when answering the question of whether the US would reconsider its relationship with NATO, he said: "There is no intention at present."

Trump also attempted to emphasize the established reasons for his initiation of this war, mentioning the necessity of eliminating a serious nuclear threat. Without providing any evidence, he claimed that Iran was only two weeks away from obtaining the weapons they would "be more than willing to use".

Trump also sent more ambiguous signals regarding when the US would end the war in Iran, saying that it "won't be long" before ships can safely pass through the Strait of Hormuz, and adding that "we are not ready to withdraw yet, but we will do so in the near future."

On February 28th, the United States and Israel launched a large-scale military operation against Iran. In response, Iran retaliated against Israel and the US military bases in the Middle East. Due to the war, shipping in the Strait of Hormuz was almost completely halted.

Recently, Trump has repeatedly urged European countries and other allies to participate in the escort mission in the Strait of Hormuz, and complained that some allies are not enthusiastic about assisting the United States. Earlier on the 17th, Trump posted on social media that most NATO "allies" have informed the US that they are unwilling to participate in the US-Israel military operation against Iran. The US "no longer needs nor expects" the help of NATO countries.

On the 16th, the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kallas, said, "This is not a European war," and "No one wants to get involved in this war." The EU member states have no intention of extending the "shield" escort operation currently underway in the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf to the Strait of Hormuz.