Trans-Atlantic rift widens as Trump lashes out at NATO allies over Mideast war

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks during a press conference at Downing Street in London, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, Pool) 2026-04-01T13:18:43Z LONDON (AP) — U.S.

President Donald Trump says he’s strongly considering pulling the United States out of NATO, ratcheting up his criticism of European allies and exposing a wider rift in the trans-Atlantic alliance — this time over the Iran war .

While Trump’s talk of a possible NATO pullout dates back years, the comments to The Telegraph newspaper in the U.K., published Wednesday, were among the clearest and most disparaging yet — suggesting that the fracture has deepened perhaps to a point of no return.

Asked whether he would reconsider U.S. membership in the alliance after the conflict in the Middle East ends, Trump replied: “Oh yes, I would say (it’s) beyond reconsideration.” NATO didn’t provide immediate comment when contacted by The Associated Press.

U.K.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that his government was “fully committed to NATO” and called it “the single most effective military alliance the world has ever seen.” Many European leaders have felt political pressure over the war, which faces opposition in their countries and has sent petroleum prices soaring as Iran has effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway between Iran and Oman through which about one-fifth of the world’s oil passes. “Whatever the pressure on me and others, whatever the noise, I am going to act in the British national interest in all the decisions I make,” Starmer said Wednesday.

Time to ‘reexamine the relationship,’ Rubio says Long-simmering tensions within the alliance have bubbled up again over the war.

As energy prices have spiked, Trump has been desperate to get countries to send their ships to the Strait of Hormuz.

He has called NATO allies “cowards.” Even since his first term, Trump has urged the allies to assume greater responsibility for their own security and spend more on defense.

He has argued that the U.S. has done more for them than the other way around.

A U.S. pullout would essentially spell the end of NATO, which flourished for decades under American leadership.

Speaking Tuesday on Fox News, U.S.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said: “I do think, unfortunately, we are going to have to reexamine whether or not this alliance that has served this country well for a while is still serving that purpose.” Rubio raised questions with interviewer Sean Hannit

原文链接: AP News