Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer responded to President Trump's latest threat to pull out of NATO by declaring that London's long-term interests now require closer ties with continental Europe and the European Union — a remarkable statement from the leader of America's closest military ally. The shift came Wednesday, hours after Trump expressed frustration that European nations had refused to back the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran, The New York Times reported.
The British pivot carries particular weight because London has historically positioned itself as a bridge between Washington and the continent. Speaking from Seoul on Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron was blunt about the damage Trump's repeated threats have done to the alliance. Daily doubts about American commitment erode NATO from within, he said. A senior European official, speaking anonymously, went further, saying most Europeans no longer believe that Article 5 — NATO's collective defense guarantee — has real teeth.
Despite Trump's frustration with allied solidarity, European nations have been working to demonstrate their value. A coalition of some 35 countries, organized by Britain and France, has agreed to patrol the Strait of Hormuz once the Iran conflict ends — a direct response to Trump's demand that allies contribute. Nicholas Burns, a former American ambassador to NATO, noted that Washington has not formally invoked NATO in the Iran campaign, since the alliance is defensive and the United States initiated the attack without consulting its partners.
Wolfgang Ischinger, a former German ambassador to Washington, warned that leaving NATO would hand Russia a strategic victory it has pursued since the Soviet era — the removal of American forces from Europe. Burns called a U.S. withdrawal catastrophic for American global power and said he would be astonished if Congress agreed to it. But as Bruno Macaes, Portugal's former secretary of state for European affairs, put it, the choice between autonomy and dependence on America grows sharper for Europe every month.
Earlier, "Hvylya" reported how Gulf states have started reassessing American military bases on their soil as trust in Washington erodes.