Nato making a foolish mistake on Iran: Trump

Wednesday, 18 March 2026

Joseph Kent, director of the National Counterterrorism Centre, speaking during the House Committee on Homeland Security in December, has quit saying Iran ‘posed no imminent threat to our nation’ .

Middle East

President Trump has accused Nato of making a “foolish mistake” on Iran after the military alliance’s members largely rebuffed his calls to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

The American president appeared increasingly isolated as he faced his first high-profile resignation over the war. His counterterrorism chief, Joe Kent, quit, saying that Iran “posed no imminent threat to our nation”.

France said it would never take part in military operations to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a day after Germany said Nato had “nothing to do” with the US-Israeli war in Iran. Trump again singled out UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer for criticism, saying the special relationship was “always the best until Keir came along”. He said the prime minister was a “nice man” but “doesn’t produce”.

Trump told reporters in the Oval Office: “I think Nato is making a very foolish mistake. When they say it [Iran] was a threat, but we’re not going to help, I think they’re very foolish.” He wrote on Truth Social: “I am not surprised by their action, however, because I always considered Nato, where we spend Hundreds of Billions of Dollars per year protecting these same Countries, to be a one way street – We will protect them, but they will do nothing for us, in particular, in a time of need.”

Trump said Starmer had made a “big mistake” in his response to calls for support in the war as he said the “good” trade deal he had struck with the UK “probably wasn’t appreciated”. Trump pointed to a bust of Winston Churchill and said: “Unfortunately, Keir is not Winston Churchill.” He also criticised Starmer’s policies on immigration and energy.

Trump said the US did not need the help of other countries in its war against Iran, only days after calling on allies to help secure the vital Strait of Hormuz.

European allies believe that any operation in the strait while the conflict is raging would require nations to effectively “force” a reopening, which would be highly dangerous for the troops involved and make it likely to drag them into the war. British troops took out more than five drones overnight in Iraq on Monday, the largest number in a single night since the conflict began.

One Nato source told The Times that the situation was “quite complicated” because of the ease with which Iran was able to deploy drones from positions harder to detect than missile launchers. Some European countries believe diplomacy is the only solution.

Iran has been receiving satellite imagery and improved drone technology from Russia to help it target American forces, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Nato member states are concerned that the conflict in the Middle East affects support for Ukraine, which has been helping to defend Gulf countries against Iranian-designed Shahed drones by sending anti-drone military experts to the region.

On Monday, Trump had singled out France as an exception to the refusal by Washington’s Nato allies to take part in operations in the waterway. He said: “I just spoke with Emmanuel. I’d give him an eight out of 10. He’s doing some things that are very good and some things that are not so good. He’s an eight … not perfect, but it’s France”.

However, President Macron led European allies yesterday in warning Washington that they would not take part in military operations to open the strait. “We are not a party to the conflict, and therefore France will never take part in operations to open or liberate the Strait of Hormuz in the current context,” he said.

Trump also faced a rebellion over the conflict in Iran from his own national counterterrorism director. Kent announced that he was stepping down in objection to the war in Iran, saying that Tehran did not pose an “imminent threat to our nation”. It was the first resignation suffered by the Trump administration since it launched Operation Epic Fury in the Middle East, alongside Israel.

Israel is celebrating a strike in Tehran that it said had killed Ali Larijani, Iran’s chief “fixer” for matters internal and external. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, said the killing of the national security chief, reported to have been hit in a Tehran apartment with his son, was an effort to give Iranians a chance to remove their rulers.