President Donald Trump has threatened to cut off arms sales to Ukraine if NATO members do not join his coalition to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. While Trump halted military aid to Ukraine, he has continued to sell weapons to NATO members, who transfer the arms to Kiev.
According to sources speaking with The Financial Times, Washington was unhappy with members of NATO after President Donald Trump called on European states to join his “coalition of the willing” to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and no states signed on.
Tehran closed the Strait to most shipping after the US and Israel conducted a surprise attack on Iran.
The White House responded by threatening to halt weapon sales to Ukraine. After President Trump halted military aid to Ukraine, NATO established the PURL fund to buy American weapons for Ukraine. Ukraine has relied on Western military aid for its war with Russia.
As a result of Washington’s threats, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte persuaded several European leaders to sign a letter stating their intent to assist in reopening the Strait of Hormuz. However, the statement was symbolic as none of the signatories agreed to provide military assistance for the operation.
“It was Rutte who insisted on the joint statement because Trump had threatened to withdraw from Purl and from Ukraine in general,” an official told The Financial Times. “The statement was then quickly put together, and other countries joined in afterwards because there was not enough time to invite everyone to sign up straight away.”
In a call with European leaders, Rutte described Trump’s temperament as “rather hysterical.” It appears the letter was enough to appease Trump in the short-term, as Washington has not announced the end of arms sales to PURL.
However, the rift between Washington and NATO is growing. Trump, upset with Europe’s opposition to the war against Iran, told The Telegraph that he was considering pulling the US out of the alliance. Spain and other NATO states have barred US warplanes from using their airspace for operations against Iran.
