Overview
- After several NATO governments refused U.S. requests tied to the Iran war, President Trump said this week he is “absolutely” considering pulling the United States from NATO and called the alliance a “paper tiger.”
- Spain and Italy denied basing or airspace for U.S. operations related to Iran, and France restricted overflights for U.S. supplies to Israel, according to multiple reports citing national officials and Reuters.
- European leaders pushed back, with France’s Emmanuel Macron warning that daily doubt erodes alliance trust during a visit to Seoul, while the UK’s Keir Starmer and Germany’s Boris Pistorius said they would not be drawn into the Iran conflict.
- Domestic constraints loom large in the U.S., as a 2023 law requires Senate approval or an act of Congress to leave NATO, and Article 13 of the treaty demands a one‑year notice before any withdrawal takes effect, experts noted.
- Media dynamics intensified the rift on Friday when the New York Times misnamed NATO in print, issued a correction, and drew a public rebuke from Trump, as analysts warned that credibility strains are pushing Europeans toward more independent security moves, including reported limits on UK intelligence sharing.