March 20, 2026 10:17 AM

Trump calls for Japan, NATO to ‘step up’ on Iran as oil prices bite

President Donald Trump on Thursday urged Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to "step up" as he pressed allies for more support over the war with Iran and rising oil prices, while defending the secrecy of the campaign by invoking Japan’s surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. Trump, who greeted Takaichi with hugs at the White House, heaped praise on the leader of Washington's closest ally in East Asia during an Oval Office meeting where the expected topics of discussion included tense relations ...

March 18, 2026 9:34 AM

Trump says NATO’s refusal to help on Iran is ‘very foolish mistake’

President Donald Trump on Tuesday said the United States had been informed by most of its NATO allies that they did not want to get involved with the country's military operation in Iran, a move he described as a "very foolish mistake." But Trump gave no indication that he plans to punish NATO allies for their stances, as he took questions from reporters in the Oval Office during the St. Patrick's Day visit of Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin. Trump said NATO countries were supportive of th...

March 17, 2026 2:01 PM

Iran renews attacks on US Gulf allies, Trump says that was not expected

Iran launched fresh attacks on the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday, the kind of strikes on U.S. Gulf allies that President Donald Trump said had not been expected, but which sources said he had been warned about before the conflict. Six foreign diplomats in the Gulf and the wider Middle East have told Reuters it was widely anticipated that Tehran would target Gulf Arab states if the U.S. or Israel attacked Iran, an assessment they said was shared by regional and Western governments. The U.S.-I...

March 16, 2026 12:56 PM

Trump demands other countries help secure vital Strait of Hormuz as Iran vows defiance

U.S. President Donald Trump's demands for a coalition to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz appeared to fall on deaf ears on Monday as allies Japan and Australia said they were not planning to send navy vessels to the Middle East to escort ships through the vital waterway. With the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran creating turmoil across the Middle East and shaking up global energy markets in its third week, Trumpon Sunday insisted that nations relying heavily on oil from the Gulf have a responsibility t...

March 9, 2026 4:19 PM

NATO drills for war in Arctic with focus on civilians being ready

NATO began its biennial drills in the Arctic on Monday, this ​time placing more emphasis on the role of civilians in supporting the military, at ‌a time of high tension over U.S. President Trump's push to take over Greenland from fellow NATO member Denmark. The drills, named Cold Response, focus on defending the alliance in the European Arctic, where NATO-members Norway and Finland share a border with ​Russia, and will run March 9-19 this time. The exercise has now become part of Arctic ...

March 9, 2026 2:49 PM

Turkey says it deployed six F-16 fighter jets, air defence systems to northern Cyprus

Turkey on Monday deployed six F-16 fighter jets and air defence systems to northern Cyprus to boost the security of the Turkish community there amid the war in Iran, the defence ministry said, adding that Ankara would take additional measures if needed. European powers have moved to ramp up military deployments to the ethnically-split island in recent days, after an Iranian drone, which security officials believe was fired by Hezbollah, an ally of Iran in Lebanon, hit the British Akrotiri air b...

February 6, 2026 10:21 AM

Britain expects Arctic security plans to be discussed by NATO next week

NATO defence ministers will likely discuss measures to bolster the security of Greenland in a meeting next week, British defence minister John Healey said, after U.S. President Donald Trump nearly upended the alliance over his desire to acquire it. Trump has repeatedly asserted that he wants Greenland, saying European allies have failed to properly secure it. His comments sparked a dispute with NATO member Denmark over its overseas territory and strained the defence alliance. Those tensions ea...

January 23, 2026 3:00 PM

Denmark, NATO seek to boost Arctic security amid Greenland crisis

Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said on Friday she had agreed with NATO chief Mark Rutte that the alliance needs to boost security in the Arctic following weeks of turmoil over U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to annex Greenland. The governments of Denmark and Greenland, a Danish autonomous territory, insist that sovereignty over the island is not up for discussion, but have said they are open to talks on a wide range of other topics. Trump said on Thursday he had secured to...

January 23, 2026 10:37 AM

Trump touts ‘total access’ Greenland deal as NATO asks allies to step up

President Donald Trump said on Thursday he had secured total and permanent U.S. access to Greenland in a deal with NATO, whose head said allies would have to step up their commitment to Arctic security to ward off threats from Russia and China. News of a framework deal came as Trump backed off tariff threats against Europe and ruled out taking Greenland by force, bringing a degree of respite in what was brewing to be the biggest rupture in transatlantic ties in decades. Trump's U-turn triggere...

January 20, 2026 11:24 AM

Trump links Greenland threat to Nobel Peace Prize snub, EU prepares to retaliate

U.S. President Donald Trump has linked his drive to take control of Greenland to his failure to win the Nobel Peace Prize, saying he no longer thought "purely of Peace" as the row over the island threatened to reignite a trade war with Europe. Trump declined to tell NBC News in an interview whether he would use force to seize Greenland. He did reiterate his threat to hit European nations with tariffs if a deal is not reached. Trump has intensified his push to wrest sovereignty over Greenland f...