Trump at NATO: ‘I was testing people,’ US president says he is 'very disappointed' by NATO response to Iran war
Trump says he was 'testing' NATO allies during the Iran conflict and reveals his relationship with Meloni has ‘soured’ over her stance on the Strait of Hormuz.
US President Donald Trump has said that he was ‘very disappointed’ with the response of NATO allies toward the Iran war. “I was very disappointed with NATO,” Trump told reporters on Tuesday as he met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan after arriving in Ankara for a NATO leaders’ summit. The US President also said that he was ‘testing’ whether the NATO allies would support Washington in the Israel-Iran-US war.
For years, Trump has openly questioned whether America's closest allies are strong enough, loyal enough or useful enough to deserve the protection they've relied on since World War II.
Some allies' refusal to open air bases for US strikes on Iran — or to send forces to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz — has hardened his NATO skepticism into open contempt.
Quick answers to key questions
Trump expressed disappointment with NATO allies for their lack of support during the Iran conflict, indicating he was 'testing' their reliability and questioning whether they would stand by the US in times of conflict.
Trump stated he was 'testing' NATO allies to see if they would support the US in the Israel-Iran-US war, highlighting doubts about the alliance's reliability and commitment to mutual defense.
Trump noted that Meloni's refusal to support US positions on the Strait of Hormuz and Iran has strained their relationship, despite his personal regard for her.
Trump praised Turkey for its understanding of Iran, crediting it with being instrumental in efforts to denuclearize the country, while also noting Turkey's choice to avoid direct involvement in the conflict.
Trump described the military actions concerning Iran not as a war but as a 'military operation' aimed at denuclearization, reflecting his view of the situation's seriousness.
In the weeks since the Iran war, Trump has repeatedly humiliated European leaders, even those who once believed their personal rapport with him offered some protection. He has mocked Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, alleging she had "begged" him for a photograph at the G7, and on Monday shared a meme of her captioned "Restraining order needed."
Trump also disclosed UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer's resignation before branding him weak, suggesting his caution over Iran meant he was no Churchill. Even NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, long regarded as Europe's foremost "Trump whisperer," failed to win him over last month despite presenting a gold-lettered chart celebrating what he called "The Trump Trillion" in allied defence spending.
Trump admits he was 'testing' NATO allies
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday during a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara, ahead of a NATO leaders' summit, Trump said the episode had revealed doubts about the alliance's reliability.
"I was very disappointed with NATO," Trump told reporters. "We didn't need any help at all, and in a way, I was testing people," he said. "I was testing to see whether or not they'd be there, because I've long said that we helped them, but I'm not sure that they'd be there for us."
Relations with Meloni 'soured' over Hormuz Strait stance
Trump also revealed friction with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, saying her refusal to support US positions on the Strait of Hormuz and Iran had strained ties between the two leaders, despite his continued personal regard for her.
"She refused to get involved with the Hormuz Strait, or you could also say just Iran," Trump said. "So it soured my relationship with her a little bit. But I like her. I think she's a nice person. But I think she made a mistake."
Trump argued that Italy's heavy reliance on oil imports from the Gulf region made its reluctance notable, contrasting this with America's domestic energy resources.
"We have a lot of oil. The United States has more oil than anybody. And when you add Venezuela to it, it's like we have far more oil than anybody. We don't need the straits," he said.
"We do this because we think it's an important thing to do. But she just wasn't there for us. And I wasn't happy about that," Trump added.
Erdogan and Turkey's role in 'denuclearising' Iran
Turning to Turkey's position, Trump praised Erdogan's understanding of Iran and credited Ankara with playing a constructive role in efforts to wind down hostilities, which he characterised not as a war but as a mission to strip Tehran of nuclear capability.
"They know Iran very well, and they know the problems with Iran," Trump said of Turkish officials. "They've been very instrumental, along with a couple of other countries, of helping."
"With respect to our relationship, including trying to end the war with Iran, or whatever you call it, it's not even a war. It's a military operation. It's a denuclearization," he said.
Trump noted that Turkey, despite its military strength, had chosen to stay out of direct involvement in the conflict.
"He could have gotten into the fight," Trump said, describing Turkey as "a very powerful military nation."
On the question of Iran's nuclear ambitions, Trump suggested Erdogan shared Washington's opposition to Tehran acquiring a weapon.
"I don't think he wants to see them have a nuclear weapon either," Trump said. "I'm pretty sure of that. In fact, I'm totally sure of that."
The remarks came as NATO leaders gathered in Ankara for a summit expected to address the fallout from the Iran conflict and broader questions over alliance solidarity and burden sharing among member states.
About the Author
Sayantani Biswas is an assistant editor at Livemint with seven years of experience covering geopolitics, foreign policy, international relations and global power dynamics. She reports on Indian and international politics, including elections worldwide, and specialises in historically grounded analysis of contemporary conflicts and state decisions. She joined Mint in 2021, after covering politics at publications including The Telegraph. <br> She holds an MPhil in Comparative Literature from Jadavpur University (2019), with a specialisation in postcolonial Latin American literature. Her research examined economic nationalism through Eduardo Galeano’s Open Veins of Latin America. She also writes on political language, cultural memory and the long shadows of conflict. <br> Biswas grew up in Durgapur, an industrial town in West Bengal shaped by migration, which drew families from across India to the Durgapur Steel Plant. As the only child in a joint family, she spent years listening—almost obsessively—to her grandparents’ testimonies of struggle, fear and loss as they fled Bangladesh during the Partition of 1947. This formative exposure to lived historical memory later converged with her training in Comparative Literature, equipping her to analyse socio-economic structures and their reverberations. <br> Outside the newsroom, she gravitates towards cultural history and critical theory, returning often to texts such as Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed. As a journalist, she is committed to accuracy, intellectual rigour and fairness, and believes political reporting demands not only clarity and speed, but historical depth, contextual precision, and a disciplined resistance to spectacle.
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