NATO

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Trump Floats New Coalition to Reopen Strait of Hormuz

Allies being asked to join the 'Maritime Freedom Construct'

(Newser) - President Trump is pitching a new idea to keep commercial shipping traffic moving through the Strait of Hormuz—a new coalition of allies created just for that purpose. The Wall Street Journal reports that the US outlined the plan, called the "Maritime Freedom Construct," in a cable sent...

Germany's Leader Says Iran Is 'Humiliating' the US

Merz says US appears to lack an exit strategy

(Newser) - Germany's leader just offered one of the bluntest European critiques yet of Washington's Iran strategy—or lack of one. Speaking to students in Marsberg on Monday, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Iran's rulers were "humiliating" the United States by drawing US envoys to Pakistan and sending them...

NATO Dismisses Leaked Pentagon Memo on Spain

Memo discussed 'punishments' including suspending Spain from alliance

(Newser) - NATO says it simply doesn't work that way. The alliance on Friday dismissed the idea that the US could push to suspend Spain over its refusal to back strikes on Iran, after Reuters reported an internal Pentagon email floated "punishing" allies seen as unhelpful. NATO officials told the...

Greenland Responds to Trump's New Insult

Nielsen says he sees no sign president's goal has changed

(Newser) - Greenland's leader is pushing back after being reduced to a "piece of ice" in President Trump's latest broadside against NATO. Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen urged alliance members to close ranks in defense of international law after the president complained on social media that NATO wasn't there...

NATO Chief Says Allies 'a Bit Slow' to Help With Iran

Rutte declines to say whether Trump repeated his threat to pull out of organization

(Newser) - NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte declined to say Thursday whether President Trump had repeated his threat to quit the military organization, saying only that the US leader was disappointed in some allies for being too slow to help with the Iran war. Rutte's remarks came a day after he weathered...

UK Calls Out Russia for Alleged Undersea Cable Spying

Defense secretary reveals month-long operation tracking subs as Iran war raged

(Newser) - Britain has responded to President Trump's barbs about its military and its lack of action in the Middle East by saying it's focused on a true threat: Russian spying in the North Atlantic. UK Defense Secretary John Healey on Thursday revealed the country shadowed three Russian submarines for...

Trump Looks at Shifting Troops to Punish, Reward NATO States
Trump Considers
Punishing NATO
Apr 8, 2026 7:16 PM CDT

Trump Considers Punishing NATO

President repeats criticism after meeting with secretary-general

(Newser) - The Trump administration is weighing a plan to shift military forces out of some NATO member states that did not back the US war with Iran, as a way to punish nations without withdrawing from the alliance—which President Trump lacks the authority to do. Administration officials said the plan...

Macron Hits Back at Trump's Comments About His Wife

US president said she treats spouse 'extremely badly'; French leader says Trump's remarks weren't 'elegant'

(Newser) - President Trump is catching heat in France after mocking Emmanuel Macron and his wife during a private lunch, complete with a fake French accent and a jab that Brigitte Macron "treats him extremely badly." Trump made the remarks as he criticized NATO allies for not joining the war...

Trump Weighs Pulling Out of 'Paper Tiger' NATO

President again blasts European allies over lack of support in Iran war

(Newser) - After slamming allies for failing to join the US-Israeli war in Iran, and threatening no more US support, President Trump is now suggesting the US may pull out of NATO. Asked if he was considering withdrawing, Trump told the Telegraph the matter is "beyond reconsideration." "I was...

Trump Blasts Allies: 'USA Won't Be There to Help Anymore'

US president slams UK, France, NATO over their wariness at joining US-Israel blitz against Iran

(Newser) - President Trump is signaling a colder era for some of America's closest partners. In a series of Truth Social posts, the president lashed out at the UK, France, and NATO over their reluctance to join US and Israeli military action against Iran and efforts to reopen the Strait of...

Trump Slams 'Cowards' Amid Push to Reopen Strait

President criticizes NATO allies for not helping as American forces work to secure Hormuz

(Newser) - President Trump escalated his criticism of NATO allies reluctant to help as American forces worked to secure the Strait of Hormuz on Friday. In a Truth Social post, Trump labeled the allies "cowards" in all caps and warned again that the US would remember. "They didn't want...

Lindsey Graham: I've Never Heard Trump So Angry

President continues to rail against allies' reluctance to join war against Iran

(Newser) - After being largely rebuffed in his request for allies' help against Iran, President Trump issued an all-caps retort on Truth Social Tuesday: "WE DO NOT NEED THE HELP OF ANYONE!" Trump amplified remarks he made on Monday , asserting that the US is just fine working only with Israel,...

Missile Allegedly Fired at Turkey Brings Talk of Article 5

NATO says no current plans to trigger mutual defense clause linked to armed attack

(Newser) - Turkey and Iran are at odds over a missile allegedly fired at the Incirlik Air Base, a joint Turkish-US airbase near the city of Adana. Ankara reported Wednesday that a projectile originating in Iran was tracked over Iraq and Syria and disabled by NATO air and missile defenses above the...

Macron: Next 50 Years 'Will Be an Age of Nuclear Weapons'

French leader to boost nation's nuclear arsenal amid Russia aggression, US retreat

(Newser) - France's president is recasting his country's nuclear role, as well as asking Europe to step closer to it. Emmanuel Macron on Monday announced plans to enlarge France's nuclear arsenal and knit it more tightly into European defense, arguing that the continent must "regain control of [its]...

Neutral Ireland Ramps Up Sea Surveillance

Plan includes new radar, subsea surveillance, and NATO coordination

(Newser) - Ireland is putting more eyes and ears on the water—and in the water—without dropping its neutral status. In its first-ever national maritime security strategy, Dublin says it will upgrade radar and undersea surveillance and work more closely with neighboring NATO states as it confronts what it calls rising...

Rubio Reassures Europe While Digging In on Criticism

Leaders at security conference like shift in tone, but seem skeptical about fundamental changes

(Newser) - Secretary of State Marco Rubio used a high-profile security gathering in Munich on Saturday to argue that the US and Europe are fundamentally linked, even as he backed Trump administration policies that have strained those ties. In a keynote address to the Munich Security Conference, Rubio told European leaders that...

Danes Who Served With Americans Protest at Embassy

Marchers protest Trump's mocking of their military contributions

(Newser) - Hundreds of Danish veterans—many of whom fought alongside US troops—and thousands of supporters staged a silent protest Saturday outside the US Embassy in Copenhagen in response to President Trump's threats to take over Greenland and his belittling of their combat contributions. The crowd gathered in subzero temperatures...

NATO Chief: Europe Can't Defend Itself Without US

'Keep on dreaming,' Mark Rutte tells EU lawmakers amid Greenland tensions

(Newser) - If Europe envisions defending itself without help from the US, "keep on dreaming," NATO's chief told lawmakers Monday. Addressing the European Parliament in Brussels, Mark Rutte warned that the continent cannot defend itself without the US, even as tensions simmer over President Trump's push to increase...

After Outcry, Trump Praises UK Troops

Statement doesn't include the apology Starmer suggested

(Newser) - President Trump heaped praise Saturday on British soldiers who fought in Afghanistan, in a post on social media that represented a partial reversal of disparaging comments he made this week that drew a cascade of criticism in the UK, particularly from families of those killed and seriously injured in the...

Prince Harry Rebukes Trump on Allies' Sacrifice

Family members of troops killed in Afghanistan condemn president's contention

(Newser) - The UK's Prince Harry joined the outraged response on Friday to President Trump's contention that US allies largely hung back during the fighting in Afghanistan after 9/11. Harry, who did two tours in Afghanistan while serving in the British army, said in a statement that the sacrifices of...

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