Trump lashes out at allies at NATO summit, orders trade halt with ‘wasted cause’ Spain

US president complains pact’s members didn’t help in war with Iran, says he still wants to take Greenland, declares Madrid ‘hopeless’

ANKARA, Turkey — US President Donald Trump lashed out at NATO allies Wednesday at a summit in Ankara, as the fallout from his war with Iran threatened to overshadow the key gathering.

With tensions peaking after an overnight flare-up between US and Iranian forces, Trump declared the Iran ceasefire was “over,” then took aim at NATO allies who failed to back his campaign against Tehran.

And he insisted he still wanted Greenland, calling European resistance to his stance a “big problem.”

“I’m very upset with NATO… because of what they did with Greenland, and… because of the fact that they didn’t want to help us with the number one state sponsor of terror, that’s Iran,” he said.

Trump singled out Spain for particular criticism, calling it a “terrible partner in NATO.”

“Spain is a wasted cause. We don’t want to do any trade business with Spain anymore,” he said, dragging up a bitter row that also touches on Madrid’s defense spending, urging his Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to “cut it off.”

It was the second time Trump had instructed Bessent to halt commerce with Spain over its refusal to commit to NATO’s new defense spending target of 5% of GDP. However, after his first such promise in March, trade between the two countries continued normally.

“Spain doesn’t agree to anything, and you shouldn’t carry them,” Trump told NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, who later tried to soothe the tension by saying that Spain “made a huge step last year” raising its spending to two percent, although he added that “there are still issues we have to solve.”

“I don’t want to do any trade with them, alright?” Trump said, turning to Bessent, who replied: “Yes, sir.” Trump then added, “Take it immediately. Don’t even talk to them. They’re hopeless. They’re bad people… They make so much money with us, and we’re going to see that they make a lot less.”

The office of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who leads a minority leftist government, said in a statement it was treating Trump’s statements as “business as usual” and did not intend to change the “excellent” relations it enjoyed with Washington.

It pointed out that Spain had a trade deficit with the US and that economic ties were forged by private companies rather than governments, adding that as part of the customs and trade union, individual EU members could not be singled out.

Trump has repeatedly expressed frustration with Spain after Sanchez, a socialist, refused to let the US use its airspace or bases on its territory for the Iran war. Washington jointly operates with Madrid two key military bases in southern Spain for naval and air operations.

Spain is the world’s largest olive oil exporter and also sells auto parts, ​steel, and chemicals to the United States, although analysts consider it to be less vulnerable to Trump’s threats of economic punishment than other European economies.

Trump raked up more sensitive territory by reiterating his desire for NATO member Denmark’s territory of Greenland.

“Greenland is a big problem for us,” he told reporters, saying it was “very important for the United States, but it’s not important for Denmark.”

“We need it for protection of the world, not just the United States… It doesn’t help Denmark, but it helps us.”

Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen had earlier issued a terse response to Trump’s remarks a day earlier, saying: “Greenland is, of course, not for sale.”

Later in the day Trump said there was “a lot of love” at the meeting.

“It was a great meeting, there was a lot of love in that room, a lot of unity,” he told reporters as he met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of the summit.

Allies anxious

Rutte had earlier sought to shore up confidence in Washington’s “complete commitment” to the military alliance as anxious allies readied for a face-to-face meeting with the mercurial US leader.

As he landed in Turkey on Tuesday, Trump was effusive in his praise for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, highlighting their “chemistry” in remarks that contrasted sharply with his lingering bitterness toward European allies.

The summit comes at a fraught time for the 77-year-old transatlantic alliance, with Trump demanding members make good on a pledge to ramp up defense spending as Washington takes a step back from Europe.

On the eve of the key session, the alliance published figures showing core defense spending by Europe had risen by 11 percent in 2026 and would hit $634 billion, up from $571 billion a year earlier.

Keen to avoid a new confrontation with Trump, NATO allies unveiled tens of billions in new arms contracts on Tuesday in a bid to prove they were making good on a pledge to hike defense spending.

“Yesterday was a great success,” Rutte said on Wednesday, saying allies were “delivering” by moving to take more responsibility for the defense of their continent in the face of Russia.

“This is a big win for the American president.”

With NATO keen to focus the US leader’s attention on its surging defense budgets, stalled efforts to halt the Ukraine war were also back on the agenda, with Trump saying he believed both sides wanted to end the fighting.

“I think they both want to make a deal,” Trump said ahead of his meeting with Zelensky.

With negotiations at an impasse, Trump spoke with Russia’s Vladimir Putin before flying to Turkey and was to “follow up” with him after meeting Zelensky, a US official said.

Europe and Canada are set to pledge to keep military support flowing to Ukraine to the tune of 70 billion euros ($80 billion) a year in both 2026 and 2027.

Trump will also hold talks with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa as he seeks to rebuild the country’s international image as it emerges from years of civil war.

The meeting comes a day after the Syrian leader hosted French President Emmanuel Macron for a landmark state visit that was overshadowed by twin bomb attacks that wounded 18 in the capital Damascus.

Although Trump still appears rankled over restrictions some allies put on US forces using bases at the start of the Iran conflict, he brought welcome news for Erdogan, saying he would consider selling Turkey F-35 fighter jets and would roll back sanctions.

Ankara was booted out of the F-35 program in 2019 after buying a Russian defense system, and has long sought a way to regain admittance and to secure the lifting of US sanctions that have soured ties and hampered Turkish defense projects.