WASHINGTON, DC, USA – APRIL 6: US President Donald Trump holds a press conference in the James S. Brady Press Conference Room at the White House on April 6, 2026 in Washington, DC, USA.
Celal Gunes | Anadolu | Getty Images
US President Donald Trump appears to be turning his attention back to Greenland while venting his frustrations with NATO, as the diplomatic fallout from the Iran war reveals rifts in America’s relationship with the security alliance.
“NATO wasn’t there when we needed it, and they won’t be there when we need it again. Remember Greenland, that big, poorly run block of ice!!!” President Trump said in a post on Truth Social Wednesday evening.
The latest broadside comes after President Trump announced a two-week ceasefire after more than a month of fighting with Iran. President Trump has repeatedly criticized NATO members for not joining the Iran war, calling his call to action a “great test” and threatening to withdraw from the alliance.
President Trump has targeted NATO and Greenland in recent days. “If you want to know the truth, it all started in Greenland,” President Trump told reporters at a White House press briefing on Monday. “We want Greenland. They don’t want to give it to us. And I said, ‘Goodbye, goodbye.'”
Relations between the United States and its European allies have soured after President Trump threatened tariffs on European countries and threatened military action to seize Greenland, an autonomous region of Denmark. President Trump said in January that he had reached a “framework for a future agreement on Greenland” with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte.
The Iran war is creating new tensions in diplomatic relations. This comes as some NATO allies resist supporting the U.S. and Israeli military operations against Iran, denying U.S. military aircraft access to their airspace and refusing to allow their naval forces to contribute to efforts to restart energy shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.
President Trump’s comments on Wednesday came after a meeting with Rutte at the White House earlier in the day, during which press secretary Caroline Leavitt reportedly said NATO had “turned its back on the American people.”
Rutte acknowledged the friction in an interview with CNN after the meeting, saying: “He’s clearly disappointed in many of our NATO allies and I understand his point.”
President Trump last week called NATO a “Paper Tiger” and said he was “absolutely” considering leaving the 32-nation alliance, arguing that European members depend on U.S. security and have provided insufficient support when the United States needs it most.
Michael Ferrer, chief geopolitical strategist, said Iran was “testing unity” with Spain and Turkey by offering them exemptions from accessing oil through the Strait of Hormuz, adding: “President Trump cannot attack permanently without hollowing out alliances.”
Ferrer said the Pentagon timed the leak about new military activity in Greenland to coincide with President Trump’s comments, referring to a New York Times report earlier this month about the Pentagon seeking military expansion in Greenland. The United States is negotiating with Denmark for access to three additional bases in Greenland, the first U.S. expansion of the bases in decades, according to reports.
“It’s not a foreshadowing of an invasion, but it’s probably meant to be intimidating,” Ferrer said.
Meanwhile, less than 24 hours after the ceasefire with Iran, the country’s parliament speaker Mohammad Berger Ghalibaf said the US government had violated the terms of the ceasefire agreement.
Israel has reportedly launched its heaviest attack yet on Lebanon, killing hundreds of people and underscoring the fragility of the cease-fire agreement, calling Iranian threats “unreasonable” to proceed with peace talks with the United States.
