NATO chief Mark Rutte set for Trump talks as US-Iran truce begins

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WASHINGTON - NATO chief Mark Rutte will hold talks with US President Donald Trump in Washington on April 8, one day after the United States and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire.

The US president has expressed anger at Western partners’ refusal to back his war on Iran, rocking the 77-year-old transatlantic alliance.

He branded NATO partners “cowards” for limiting US forces’ access to bases on their territories and for refusing to lead efforts to open the Strait of Hormuz.

But NATO’s secretary-general touts a record of pulling Mr Trump back onside – and will be looking to do so again when he meets the president, as well as US top diplomat Marco Rubio and defence chief Pete Hegseth.

NATO has been thrust repeatedly into crisis since Mr Trump returned to power in 2025 – most acutely by his threat to seize the vast Arctic island of Greenland from fellow member Denmark.

That followed him pulling the rug from under Ukraine in its war against Russia, threats not to protect allies if they don’t spend more on defence, and warnings that Washington could pull troops from Europe.

Dubbed a “Trump whisperer”, Mr Rutte has been central to allied efforts to mollify the US leader, often by means of flattery – and on Iran he has sought to thread the needle by calling US efforts to degrade Iran’s military capability something to “applaud.”

Mr Trump has warmed to Mr Rutte’s praise, describing the secretary-general as “a wonderful guy” and a “great person” – even while charging fellow NATO countries had “gone out of their way not to help” in the Middle East.

Speaking as Mr Rutte headed to Washington, a NATO official said he planned to “discuss current security dynamics including in the context of Iran as well as Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine” in his talks with Trump.

And he would “seek to build on the success” of 2025’s NATO summit in The Hague at which allies agreed to Mr Trump’s demand to ramp up their defence spending target, the official said.

Mr Trump has long railed against NATO, calling it “obsolete” in 2017 and mulling withdrawing.

Compounding the worry this time, however, Mr Trump has been joined by traditional NATO supporters, including Secretary of State Rubio who warned last week the United States was “going to have to reexamine” the relationship in light of the rift over Iran.

The United States and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire on April 7 barely an hour Mr Trump’s deadline to obliterate the rival country was set to expire, with Tehran to temporarily reopen the vital Strait of Hormuz. AFP