Trump strongly considering pulling US out of NATO, labels alliance a “paper tiger”

US President Donald Trump is strongly considering pulling out of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) after it failed to join his war on Iran, he said in an interview with The Telegraph.

On reconsidering the US’s membership of the alliance after the conflict, he said, “Oh yes, I would say [it’s] beyond reconsideration. I was never swayed by Nato. I always knew they were a paper tiger, and Putin knows that too, by the way."

Also read: Trump's flip-flops on Iran war leave Americans confused


NATO partners have been reluctant to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a key passageway through which 20 per cent of the world’s oil travels. Tehran has closed the strait for weeks, skyrocketing global oil and gas prices while threatening a global recession.

Earlier on Tuesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, accused NATO of being a “one-way street” as he hit out at the US’s allies for not allowing access to their military bases.

Speaking on Fox News, Rubio said America would have to “re-examine” its NATO membership when the war in Iran came to an end.

Rubio said Washington would not overlook the lack of assistance from other NATO members. "After this conflict is concluded, we are going to have to reexamine that relationship," he said.

“If NATO is just about us defending Europe if they’re attacked, but themdenying us basing rights when we need them, that’s not a very goodarrangement. That’s a hard one to stay engaged in."

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said other countries needed to "be prepared to stand up" and help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, echoing criticism from Trump, who has singled out NATO members Britain and France.

Telegraph reported that Trump’s demand for NATO to help in his war with Iran has led to questionsabout Article 5, the “attack on one is an attack on all” mutual defence clause. The mentioned clause relates only to when a NatoNATO member is attacked, and therefore would not apply to the ongoing war between US-Israel and Iran, which began with joint airstrikes on February 28.

From seeking help from NATO allies in the Middle East war to declaring he does not need them, and from threatening to destroy Tehran's energy infrastructure to postponing such strikes almost overnight, Trump's flip-flops since the start of the "military operations" a month ago have baffled American citizens.

United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer responded to Trump's NATO comments saying, "Whatever the pressure on me and others, I will act in British national interest."