By Armando Hernandez
Donald Trump assured this Tuesday that Washington does not need NATO support to confront Iran and affirmed that his country has already demonstrated military superiority against the Islamic Republic.
“NATO disappointed me deeply. It wasn’t there when we needed it. We don’t need NATO, but if we needed it, they simply wouldn’t be there,” Trump told reporters at the White House before traveling to Beijing to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The Republican president insisted that the United States does not require support from its allies to continue the offensive against Tehran.
“We will win one way or another. We will win peacefully or any other way,” he said.
The statements deepen tension between Washington and several NATO member countries, after several European nations refused to get directly involved in military operations led by the United States and Israel against Iran.
Since the start of the war on February 28, Trump has accused his NATO partners of “not being there” when Washington requested strategic and military support. The US president even called the alliance’s stance “a very foolish mistake.”
Frictions increased after German Chancellor Friedrich Merz claimed that the United States had been “humiliated” by Iran during negotiations for a possible peace deal. Following those comments, Trump ordered the withdrawal of about 5,000 American soldiers deployed in Germany.
The president has also attacked Spain for refusing to authorize the use of the Morón and Rota military bases in operations related to the offensive against Tehran.
In March, Trump called Spain “an awful partner” of NATO and threatened to “cut off all trade” with Madrid.
The truce with Iran at a fragile moment
Trump also maintained that he is in no rush to close a peace deal with Iran if it does not meet Washington’s strategic objectives. According to the president, the naval blockade imposed on the Iranian coast maintains an advantage for the United States in negotiations.
The truce is currently going through one of its most delicate moments after Trump described as “totally unacceptable” the Iranian response to the peace proposal promoted by Washington, the terms of which have not yet been publicly revealed.
In recent weeks, the US president has toughened his speech and has insisted that the military offensive will continue as long as Tehran does not accept the conditions proposed by his administration.
Keep reading:
– The Pentagon requests nearly $55 billion to reinforce its military offensive with drones
– Anthropic, the AI company that confronted the Pentagon in the US and why this concerns us all
