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NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte will travel to Washington next week to meet U.S. President Donald Trump, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal, citing a White House official and people familiar with the matter, as discussions intensify over the future of the alliance.
The visit, which NATO spokeswoman Allison Hart said had been planned in advance, comes at a time when Trump and his aides have been debating whether the U.S. should remain in the nearly 80-year-old alliance.
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According to The Wall Street Journal, Trump has grown increasingly frustrated with NATO allies for not joining the U.S. and Israel in attacks on Iran and for refusing to take action to reopen the Strait of Hormuz forcibly.
The tensions come as the Iran war continues to shape geopolitical dynamics, with divisions emerging among Western allies over military involvement and strategic priorities.
Trump said he is "strongly considering" pulling the United States out of NATO after allied nations refused to support the American-Israeli war on Iran, calling the alliance a "paper tiger" in an exclusive interview with The Telegraph published Wednesday.
Trump's statement is the most direct threat yet to the 77-year-old transatlantic defense pact, escalating what began as frustration over basing rights into an existential crisis for the Western alliance.
Asked if he would reconsider U.S. membership in NATO after the conflict, Trump replied: "Oh yes, I would say (it's) beyond reconsideration. I was never swayed by NATO. I always knew they were a paper tiger, and Putin knows that too, by the way."
Rutte’s visit to Washington will take place against this backdrop of uncertainty, as questions remain over the U.S. commitment to NATO and the broader direction of transatlantic security cooperation.
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