US President Donald Trump vented his frustration with Nato during a private meeting with its secretary-general, Mark Rutte, on Wednesday as relations in the military alliance reached a crisis point over the Iran war.

"He is clearly disappointed with many Nato allies, and I can see his point," Rutte said on CNN's "The Lead with Jake Tapper," after spending more than two hours at ⁠the White House.

"This was a very frank, very open discussion, but also a discussion between two good friends."

Rutte spoke hours after White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt quoted Trump as saying of Nato: "They were tested, and they failed," during the Iran war.

Several Nato countries resisted supporting the US military campaign against Iran by denying US military planes use of their airspace or declining to send naval forces to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz for energy tankers.

Rutte has been central to allied efforts to flatter and mollify the US leader, whom he called "daddy" at a summit last year.

Without specifying the countries, Rutte said his own view was that "some" Nato countries had failed to live up to their commitments in the Iran operation but that "the large majority of Europeans" had been helpful.

Trump posted on Truth Social after the meeting in capitalized letters that "Nato wasn't there when we needed them, and they won't be there if we need them again."

Trump has repeatedly called Nato a "paper tiger" and threatened ⁠to withdraw from the 32-member transatlantic alliance in recent weeks, arguing that Washington's European allies have relied on U.S. security guarantees while ⁠providing inadequate support for the U.S.-Israeli bombing campaign in ⁠Iran.

Earlier, in an interview with AFP after the announcement, Trump said he believed China had helped get Iran to the negotiating table. (Agencies)



Edited by Azam Khan