President Donald Trump arrived at the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, carrying significant frustration over several European allies' responses to the U.S.-led Operation Epic Fury against Iran. This discontent has opened a new front in Trump's ongoing campaign to pressure the alliance on defense spending and burden-sharing.
The summit, scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday, is officially slated to address defense spending, the conflict in Ukraine, and NATO's long-term strategy toward Russia. However, Trump's dissatisfaction with allies who declined to grant U.S. forces access to military bases or overflight rights during the Iran operation, and those who publicly criticized the strikes, is expected to overshadow discussions.
U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker stated that Trump remains "disappointed" by these allies' stances. He further noted that the operation highlighted disparities in military capabilities across the alliance, with some members possessing advanced capabilities while others lack the capacity to contribute meaningfully to large-scale U.S.-led military actions.
During Operation Epic Fury, the United Kingdom initially withheld approval for strikes from its bases before later reversing its decision. Spain denied the use of its territory and airspace for combat operations and its Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez publicly condemned the campaign. Italy limited its support to logistical operations, and Germany served as a logistics hub but did not publicly endorse the military action.
European governments cited domestic legal constraints and concerns about being drawn into a broader Middle East conflict as reasons for their positions. While several allies later agreed to support maritime security operations in the Strait of Hormuz, the initial reluctance to back the U.S. campaign continues to influence Trump's perspective heading into the summit.
These tensions over the Iran operation build upon Trump's consistent criticism of NATO throughout his presidency, where he has repeatedly accused the alliance of over-reliance on the United States. He has frequently questioned whether Washington should continue to defend allies that do not meet defense spending commitments and has at times suggested the possibility of U.S. withdrawal from the alliance.
Trump is expected to use the summit to advocate for allies to meet NATO's new benchmark of spending 5% of their GDP on defense. Whitaker suggested that the administration views burden-sharing as extending beyond defense budgets, indicating that countries contributing more could receive benefits such as priority in defense procurement or increased engagement with U.S. leaders. The administration is also considering countermeasures for allies that do not meet defense spending goals.
While defense spending, Ukraine, and Russia are the formal agenda items, analysts anticipate that the fallout from Operation Epic Fury will significantly shape private discussions between Trump and European leaders. Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Ian Brzezinski commented that the recent conflict has introduced "two scorecards on the table" for the summit: NATO's traditional priorities and Trump's assessment of allied support during the Iran conflict.