Professor John Mearsheimer : Trump PULLING OUT of NATO?
Daniel Davis / Deep Dive
onsdag 1 april 2026
Middle East Crisis Reactions
Iranian President in Open Letter: “Holds No Malice Against Ordinary Americans”
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has published an open letter to the American people.
“We hold no malice against ordinary Americans,” he writes according to Reuters.
He further writes that it is historically incorrect to describe Iran as a threat to the United States.
“Attacking Iran’s vital infrastructure affects the Iranian people and has consequences that extend far beyond the country’s borders,” he continues.
Sources: Pete Hegseth’s stockbroker wanted to make big purchases before the Iran war
Shortly before the US attacked Iran a month ago, a financial broker working for US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth tried to make large investments in the defense sector. This is stated by three sources with insight to the Financial Times.
The broker, who works at the American bank Morgan Stanley, contacted the venture capital firm Black Rock to make an investment in their defense fund. The fund is described as a way to find “growth opportunities” in countries’ increased defense spending and a more insecure world, and includes stocks such as Lockheed Martin and Palantir.
The purchase was reportedly flagged internally at Black Rock. The purchase never went through because the fund was not available to Morgan Stanley’s clients.
Sean Parnell, a spokesman for the Pentagon, writes on X that the allegations are “completely untrue and fabricated.”
Middle East crisis Iran war
Report: US has plan to seize Iran's enriched uranium
At the request of Donald Trump, the US military has developed a complicated plan – which has no historical precedent – to seize Iran's enriched uranium. Sources tell the Washington Post.
It involves flying in excavation equipment and building runways so that cargo planes can fly out the uranium, according to the report.
– This would be one of the largest, if not the largest, and most complex special operations in history. It would be an enormous risk for the military, says Mick Mulroy, the former US assistant secretary of defense for Near Eastern affairs.
Sources: Trump threatened to stop arms deliveries to Ukraine
Trump threatened to stop arms deliveries to Ukraine if he did not get help from Europe to open the Strait of Hormuz, sources told the Financial Times.
At the end of February, Trump demanded that NATO countries stand up and send ships to open the strait, but several European countries said no.
According to the sources, Trump responded by threatening to stop arms deliveries to the NATO initiative Purl (Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List). It is an initiative in which several NATO countries jointly raise money for the purchase of American weapons and ammunition that are delivered to Ukraine.
This has reportedly prompted six member states to express their readiness to contribute with “appropriate efforts” to secure free passage through the strait in a joint statement.
– It was (NATO chief) Rutte who insisted on the joint statement because Trump threatened to withdraw support for Purl and Ukraine in general, says one of the sources.
The statement was reportedly written quickly, and other countries had to join later because there was no time to invite everyone to sign, according to the source.
Reports: US sends more fighter jets to the Middle East
The Pentagon is doubling the number of A-10 Thunderbolt II fighter jets in the Middle East, according to information provided to the New York Times.
An additional 18 aircraft are being sent in addition to the ten currently in place, according to two sources within the Pentagon. The A-10 flies at low altitude and relatively slowly, and can be used as air support for ground troops.
The plane has stopped at an air base in the UK on its way to the Middle East, flight data shows.
Trump threatened to stop arms aid to Ukraine
Published 21.48
US President Donald Trump threatened to withdraw arms aid to Ukraine unless Europe contributed military efforts to open the Strait of Hormuz in the war with Iran.
EU and NATO countries responded with a hastily made statement to provide “appropriate support”.
“It was (NATO Secretary General Mark) Rutte who insisted on a joint statement” after Trump threatened to withdraw military material aid to Ukraine unless the countries stood up to secure passage through the Strait of Hormuz, sources told the Financial Times.
Rutte is said to have told the leaders of Britain, France and Germany that Trump was “quite hysterical”.
The joint statement of support was delivered on March 19, and several countries joined in the following days.
USA:s president Donald Trump hotade med att dra in vapenstöd till Ukraina om inte Europa bidrog med militära insatser för att öppna Hormuzsundet i kriget med Iran.
EU- och Natoländer svarade med ett hastigt påkommet uttalande om att bidra med ”lämpligt stöd”.
”Det var (Natos generalsekreterare Mark) Rutte som insisterade på ett gemensamt uttalande” sedan Trump hotat med att dra tillbaka militärt materiellt stöd till Ukraina om inte länderna ställde upp för att säkerställa passage i Hormuzsundet, säger källor till Financial Times.
Rutte ska ha sagt till ledarna i Storbritannien, Frankrike och Tyskland att Trump var ”ganska hysterisk”.
Det gemensamma uttalandet om stöd överlämnades den 19 mars, och flera länder anslöt påföljande dagar.
Trump wants to reconsider NATO membership: “Paper tiger”
Updated 11.58 | Published 11.05
The US is considering leaving NATO. This is reported by the British The Daily Telegraph after speaking with President Donald Trump.
The newspaper asked Trump if he would reconsider membership in the defense alliance after the Iran war.
– Oh, I would say it is beyond reconsideration, the president replies.
– I have never been convinced about NATO. I knew all along that it is a paper tiger, and Putin knows that too, for that matter.
“Not even a fleet”
The US has shown strong dissatisfaction with the reluctance of allied European countries to help militarily in the Iran conflict and in the conversation with the London newspaper is targeting Britain in particular.– You don’t even have a navy, he says of the British.
– You’re too old, with aircraft carriers that haven’t worked.
When asked what British Prime Minister Keir Starmer should invest more in in defense, the answer is:
– He can do whatever he wants, it doesn’t matter. All Starmer wants are expensive windmills, says Trump, referring to Britain’s investments in wind power.
“Not our war”
Starmer’s answer didn’t take long.– NATO is by far the most effective military alliance the world has ever seen, he says at a press conference, after a question about Trump’s statement.
– It has kept us safe for decades, and we are fully committed to it.
At the same time, the British leader says that Europe must cooperate more intensively. And repeats the line that Iran “is not our war, and we will not let ourselves be drawn into it”.
Rubio too
In addition to the Iran war, Trump also expressed disappointment with how the Ukraine war went.– Ukraine was not our problem. It was a test, and we were there for them, and we always should have been. They were not there for us.
Earlier, Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed similar sentiments about NATO membership.
– I don't think there's any doubt, unfortunately, that when this conflict is over, we're going to have to reevaluate that relationship, Rubio told Fox News.
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