Trump Suggests US May Not Support NATO Amid Anger Over Refusal To Join Iran War
US President Donald Trump again expressed his disdain for NATO, saying that "I guess we don't have to be there" for the alliance if needed following his complaints that it didn't support the US war with Iran, comments likely to send shockwaves through member nations.
"They just weren't there," he said on March 27 at an economic forum in Miami.
"We spend hundreds of billions of dollars a year on NATO, hundreds, protecting them, and we would have always been there for them, but now, based on their actions, I guess we don't have to be, do we?"
"Why would we be there for them if they're not there for us? They weren't there for us."
"That sounds like a breaking story? Yes, sir. Is that breaking news? I think we just have breaking news, but that's the fact. I've been saying that. Why would we be there for them if they're not there for us? They weren't there for us."
Trump said it was a “tremendous mistake” for NATO members to remain out of the Middle East conflict.
“It’s going to make a lot of money for the United States, because we spend hundreds of billions of dollars a year on NATO. But now, based on their actions, I guess we don’t have to.”
NATO listed its military budget in 2025 at about $5.3 billion and said the United States contributes about 15.9 percent of it, or $842 million. However, the US government has said the Defense Department will spend more than $882 billion in the current fiscal year.
The comments are likely to raise concerns among US allies in the alliance and also among Democratic leaders in the United States. They may also worry some members of Trump's Republican Party, including members of Congress.
Trump has reacted angrily to NATO members' refusal to become involved in the US-Israeli war with Iran and their reluctance to help provide security to the Strait of Hormuz shipping lanes until a cease-fire is in place.
Trump, who has long questioned the viability of NATO, has often cast doubt on his willingness to support the alliance, saying he would not come to members aid if they didn’t pay enough for their own defense.
Trump insisted that NATO members raise their military spending to 2 percent of GDP, a level pledged in 2014 to be met over the next decade.
At least 24 have met that requirement, although Trump has since suggested the threshold may have to rise to 5 percent of GDP, a level many member nations said would not be economically viable.
Only Poland comes close to 5 percent, although Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania have signaled they will raise spending to this level as well.
NATO was established by the United States and 11 other countries to counter Soviet aggression following World War II. It has grown to 32 members and now includes many nations formerly part of the Soviet Union or under its sphere of influence. The United States has been the dominant member of NATO since its inception.
Trump has previously claimed that other countries would not come to the defense of the United States, although the only time Article 5 has been invoked is when it was determined the United States was attacked on September 11, 2001.
Article 5 is one of the main pillars of the alliance's collective defense framework, setting that an armed attack against one member is considered an attack against all members.
Trump has also suggested using the US commitment to NATO as leverage in his trade war in his effort to target what he has labeled as unfair trade policies by European nations.
With reporting by Reuters
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US House Republicans Postpone War Powers Vote Likely To Go Against Trump
Republican leaders of the US House of Representatives suddenly canceled a May 21 vote on a resolution aimed at forcing President Donald Trump to obtain authorization from Congress to continue the Iran war.
The unexpected move came two days after a similar measure passed through the US Senate.
The vote had been scheduled to take place just before lawmakers left Washington for their Memorial Day recess.
The House had blocked three previous war powers resolutions, with near-unanimous support from Republicans.
But margins had become increasingly narrow, with the most-recent resolution failing in a tie vote. The May 21 appeared likely to pass as more Republicans were expected to vote with Democrats.
If the resolution passes both houses of Congress, Trump would still have the ability to veto to action.
With reporting from Reuters
Trump, Rubio Warn Against Iranian Tolling System In Strait Of Hormuz
US President Donald Trump says that the United States does not want any tolling system in the Strait of Hormuz, as negotiations to end the war remain uncertain.
Control over the strategic waterway has become central to any potential peace agreement since Iran effectively closed the strait during the first joint US-Israeli air strikes on the country on February 28.
Shortly after the outbreak of the conflict, Iran effectively seized control of the strait by threatening and attacking commercial shipping, bringing maritime traffic to a near standstill.
It has since sought to formalize that control through a new permit-and-toll system overseen by the newly established Persian Gulf Strait Authority.
Before leaving for a meeting of NATO foreign ministers, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters on May 21 that a diplomatic agreement between the United States and Iran would be "unfeasible" if Tehran continued pursuing the implementation of a tolling system in the waterway.
"No one in the world is in favor of the tolling system. It can't happen. It would be unacceptable," he said. "It's a threat to the world if they try to do that, and it's completely illegal."
Another major sticking point in the negotiations is Iran’s nuclear program.
While Tehran has ruled out transferring its enriched uranium to the United States, Trump said Washington would seek to retrieve Iran’s stockpile.
"We will get it. We don't need it, we don't want it, he said at the White House on May 21. "We'll probably destroy it after we get it, but we're not going to let them have it."
Trump's latest comments came after he repeatedly raised the prospect over the past week that the cease-fire with Iran could collapse and lead to renewed US military strikes.
With reporting by Reuters
Iranian State News Agency Editor Summoned Over Unveiled Photos Of Female Writer
Iran’s judiciary says that the editor in chief of the state-run IRNA news agency was summoned to the prosecutor’s office for publishing photos of Iranian writer Sara Kan'ani without a hijab, or Islamic head scarf.
In a statement on May 21, the judiciary said that, following the publication of images of a woman not complying with the country’s Islamic dress code, the editor was summoned to the Culture and Media Prosecutor’s Office "to provide explanations.”
The statement added that IRNA had been warned “at the moment of publication” to remove the images.
On May 19, IRNA published photos of Kan'ani without the officially mandated hijab inside her private home as part of a human-interest story. Within minutes, pressure mounted on social media. A few hours later, the agency quietly deleted several images and revised the photo essay without explanation or a correction notice.
During the recent US and Israeli war against Iran, Kan'ani had temporarily cared for an orphaned infant.
The news agency had framed the story about her as a tribute to volunteerism, welfare institutions, and what it called "family-centered culture."
With reporting by RFE/RL's Radio Farda
Defying The US, Iran Is Cementing Its Control Over The Strait Of Hormuz
Iran is transforming its wartime control of the Strait of Hormuz into a formal permit-and-toll system, despite US warnings and a parallel American naval blockade.
According to the Windward maritime intelligence firm, Tehran is “converting the strait from a disrupted transit corridor into a state-administered permit and toll regime,” while one lawyer called the move “flat-out illegal under international law.”
Yet with global energy supplies at stake, many operators may still be willing to pay.
Read our report by Frud Bezhan here.
Iraq Warns It Will Take Action Over Drone Attacks From Its Territory
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi has warned of "necessary action" against those found responsible for launching attacks on neighboring Persian Gulf countries from Iraqi territory.
Both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have alleged that recent drone attacks targeting their countries were launched from Iraq.
One such attack on May 17 reportedly struck the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant in the UAE, raising concerns about a further escalation in regional tensions. The UAE Defense Ministry later stated that the drone was launched from Iraqi territory.
Al-Zaidi's remarks came hours after the UAE called on Iraq to "urgently and unconditionally" prevent "all hostile acts" originating from its territory.
"The government will not tolerate any individual or group that seeks to threaten the security of Iraq, its brothers, or countries in the region," the Iraqi prime minister was quoted as saying during a meeting of the Iraqi Ministerial Council for National Security.
Tensions have remained high in the Middle East since US and Israel launched strikes on Iran on February 28.
Although a fragile cease-fire has been in place since April 8, reports of drone attacks targeting the UAE and Saudi Arabia continue to surface intermittently.
Pakistan Army Chief Munir Heads To Iran Amid Peace Push
Pakistan's powerful army chief is set to visit Tehran on May 21 to discuss a framework for the revival of stalled negotiations between Iran and the United States, according to Iran's semiofficial ISNA news agency.
The report said Field Marshall Asim Munir's visit was part of ongoing discussions and consultations with Iranian officials, as part of Islamabad's mediation efforts between Tehran and Washington.
Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi is already in Tehran holding meetings with Iranian officials.
Naqvi, described as another key figure in Pakistan's mediation efforts, returned to Tehran on May 20, less than 30 hours after arriving back from an earlier visit.
Pakistan has hosted the only formal round of Iran-US talks since US and Israeli air strikes on February 28 and has since served as a key communication channel between the two sides.
If confirmed, this would be Munir's second visit to Tehran since April. He previously traveled to the Iranian capital with senior civilian officials on April 15.
20 Sailors From Seized Iranian Ship Return To Country
Tehran's ambassador to Pakistan announced the release and return to Iran of 20 Iranian sailors from a ship seized by the United States.
The Iranian ambassador to Pakistan announced on May 21 that the 20 Iranian sailors were released with the mediation and follow-up of Pakistan and returned to the country.
According to a previous announcement by the Pakistani foreign minister, 11 sailors on the ship -- which is currently being held in Singaporean waters -- are Pakistani nationals.
After US-Iran was cease-fire announced on April 8, the US military launched a naval blockade of Iran's southern ports, while the Strait of Hormuz is being blocked by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.
Iran's Ongoing Internet Blackout Reaches 83 Days
The Internet blackout in Iran entered its 83rd day on May 21, with international networks largely barred for over 1,968 hours, according to the global independent Web monitor NetBlocks.
"A free and open internet is central to the protection of life, liberty and public accountability," NetBlocks said in a post on X on May 21.
The Islamic republic imposed the latest Internet shutdown on February 28 amid US and Israeli attacks on the country.
Although Washington and Tehran reached a fragile cease-fire on April 8, Internet access has still not been fully restored, leaving citizens in digital darkness for more than two months. Only those who can afford expensive anti-filtering tools -- along with individuals granted state-approved access -- are able to get online.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Borders issued a joint statement on May 21 saying they are "deeply alarmed" by the ongoing blackout, CPJ, warning that Iran is using it to mask a broader crackdown on the press.
"What began as an effort to control information has become a sustained assault on press freedom and a daily struggle for local reporters trying to operate inside the country," the statement said.
CPJ Regional Director Sara Qudah said that "the Iranian government has created a terrifying operational vacuum where the press has been stripped of its most basic defense: public awareness."
"We are watching a deliberate attempt to make the harassment, threats, and arbitrary arrests of local journalists entirely invisible to the world -- and in doing so, they are denying the public their fundamental right to be informed," she said.
Iran Executes 2 More Prisoners
Iran's judiciary announced that it executed two men on May 21 as part of an intensified campaign of political hangings amid the ongoing conflict with the United States and Israel.
According to the Tasnim news agency, which is affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), the men were accused of forming a group intended to disrupt country's security and of membership in what authorities described as a "separatist terrorist" organization.
Tasnim identified them as Ramin Zaleh and Karim Maroufpour.
Iran's judiciary claimed the two men confessed to collaborating in a plot to assassinate an IRGC commander in western Iran and storing weapons for the attack.
The circumstances surrounding the alleged confessions remain unclear.
Rights organizations have condemned such trials of those executed. The Oslo-based Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) has said many of the trials have been marked by "torture, forced confessions, and the complete absence of due process."
The executions come amid a broader surge in hangings that has escalated since March 18, weeks after the start of the war with the United States and Israel.
Norway-based Iran Human Rights and Paris-based Together Against the Death Penalty reported that at least 1,639 people have been executed in Iran in 2025, including 48 women, marking one of the highest execution rates in the world.