After a year of tariff threats, insults and diplomatic clashes with European allies, President Donald Trump is left to wage a war in Iran with only Israel by his side.
“This is not Winston Churchill that we’re dealing with,” Trump said on Monday after U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer refused to allow the U.S. to use British bases as part of its initial strikes, only later allowing the use of its bases for “defensive” actions.
A day later, after Spain barred U.S. military planes from using its jointly operated bases in Andalusia, Trump said the U.S. would seek to “cut off all trade with Spain,” a member of the European Union’s single market.
France, backing Spain in its row, further risked the president’s ire as President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday that the strikes on Iran were “outside the framework of international law.”
Some European leaders have remained in Trump’s good graces for now. Germany’s conservative Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who sat beside Trump when the president vented about Spain, appears to have remained in Trump’s favor after permitting the U.S. Ramstein Air Base to be used amid the conflict.
“Germany’s been great,” Trump said. “They’re letting us land in certain areas, and we appreciate it.”
Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reported Sunday that Trump has praised the country’s far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who has said Italy would respect existing agreements on the use of bases. In a phone interview, Trump called her a “great leader” who “always tries to help.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday that Trump expects “all of our European allies, of course, to cooperate in this long-sought-after mission,” claiming Iran “threatens our European allies as well.”
While European allies played key roles in past military interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq, the U.S. has waged war without its allies before, with Western Europe most notably declining to send any troops to Vietnam, though some countries provided other support.
The continent’s cautious response to the war in Iran, and Trump’s broader threats, have sparked fears that a diplomatic divide could escalate into another trade confrontation, but one expert played down the rift between the trans-Atlantic partners.
“We should not be deceived into believing that the European governments do not really support the United States in Iran,” said Fawaz Gerges, a professor of international relations at the London School of Economics.
“We should not really focus on the rhetoric of European leaders,” he added. “We should focus on their actions and their deployment of naval and air power to support to provide other direct or indirect support for the American-Israeli war in Iran.”
European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Friday that Washington’s foreign policy shift had “rocked the trans-Atlantic relationship to its foundation,” but appeared to align the bloc with the U.S., accusing Iran of being “an exporter of war.”
She told reporters at a press conference that Iran was trying to “sow chaos” in the region and that she saw a chance for the Iranian people to “determine their own future.”
Despite Europe’s disagreements with Trump, “despite his bullying, despite his humiliation of Europe, most European leaders are still feel that they are dependent on the American strategic umbrella,” added Gerges.
Spain’s prime minister is “the only one who has stood up,” he said.
While responses to requests from the U.S. have differed, Europe remains unified on the need to defend the continent from any Iranian threats.
Spain, Italy, France and the Netherlands have deployed naval and air assets to Cyprus, a member of the European Union, after an Iranian-made drone struck a British base in the country on Monday.
