New Delhi (India) April 9:After a meeting behind closed doors with the head of the alliance Mark Rutte,U.S. President Donald Trump criticized NATO and seemed to renew his threats about Greenland. During the meeting, he was expected to discuss the possibility of leaving the crucial security bloc. Fears were raised that Mr. Trump might be planning to pull the United States out of the alliance after he expressed his anger to NATO allies over their refusal to join him in the war against Iran.

Trump: "NATO Wasn't There!"

President Trump stated in his post on Truth Social that NATO was not there when the US needed them and that they would not be there if Washington was in need of them once more, after the meeting.
Trump wrote: “NATO WASN’T THERE WHEN WE NEEDED THEM, AND THEY WON’T BE THERE IF WE NEED THEM AGAIN. REMEMBER GREENLAND, THAT BIG, POORLY RUN, PIECE OF ICE!!!”

Rutte Describes Talks With Trump as Frank

Mark Rutte, Secretary General of Nato, has stated that Trump was "clearly disappointed" that the US allies turned down their offer to fight together against Iran , after a private meeting in Washington on Wednesday. Rutte refused to comment directly if the US President had threatened to withdraw Trump from NATO if the war with Iran happened but used the words "very frank, very open" in a conversation between "two good friends" to describe the situation.

Rubio Eyes Iran, Ukraine Peace

Secretary of State Marco Rubio had a separate meeting with Rutte on Wednesday morning at the State Department before the White House talks. In their discussions, Rubio and Rutte exchanged views on the war with Iran and on the US efforts to broker a peace in the Russia-Ukraine war. Over the last year, the alliance has been shaken as Trump has diminished US military assistance to Ukraine in their war against Russia and even threatened to take Greenland from Denmark.

Iran Limits Hormuz Strait Ships

While the tension between the US and other Nato nations remains, Iran announced that it will not allow more than 15 ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz each day under a ceasefire agreement it made with the United States.
The Strait, a narrow 34 km strip of water that connects the Gulf to the Indian Ocean and is the primary route for about one-fifth of the world's oil supplies as well as other essential goods including fertilizers.
It has largely been closed by Iran since the beginning of the conflict at the end of February, which has resulted in a rise in global oil prices.