After the talk with Trump, a person close to the president accuses the Europeans of “arrogance”: “I have never heard him so angry in my life”
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, an ally of the US president, criticized European allies for refusing to provide resources “to keep the Strait of Hormuz open, which benefits Europe far more than America.”
In a post on the X platform on Tuesday, Graham said he had discussed the situation with President Donald Trump and accused the United States' European allies of “arrogance.”
“I have never heard him so angry in my life. I share that anger, given the stakes. The arrogance of our allies to suggest that a nuclear-armed Iran is not a big concern and that military action to prevent the ayatollah from acquiring a nuclear bomb is our problem, not theirs, is more than offensive,” the US senator said.
He argues that the European approach to the Iranian regime's “nuclear ambitions” has “turned out to be a dismal failure”.
At the same time, Lindsey Graham claims that insufficient involvement by the Europeans regarding the situation in the Strait of Hormuz will have “wide and deep repercussions for Europe and America”.
“I consider myself a very pro-alliance person, but in a time of real trial like this, it makes me question the value of those alliances. I'm sure I'm not the only senator who feels this way,” concluded Republican Senator Lindsey Graham.
Just spoke to @POTUS about our European allies' unwillingness to provide assets to keep the Strait of Hormuz functioning, which benefits Europe far more than America. I have never heard him so angry in my life. I share that anger given what's at stake.
The arrogance of our…
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) March 17, 2026
Trump again criticized his NATO allies
On Tuesday, in a post in which he complained about the refusal of European allies to support the operation in Iran, Donald Trump described the relationship with the NATO alliance as a “one-way street” in which the US invests hundreds of billions of dollars to protect its member states, but receives nothing in its moments of need.
“The United States has been informed by the majority of our NATO 'allies' that they do not want to be involved in our military operation against the terrorist regime in Iran in the Middle East, despite the fact that almost all countries have fully agreed with what we are doing and that Iran cannot, under any circumstances, be allowed to have nuclear weapons,” the US president wrote on Truth Social.
