US confirms no talks on NATO exit amid alliance tensions

Middle Eastern coverage links Trump’s renewed NATO exit talk to frustration over how European allies are handling the conflict with Iran. It stresses that Trump is using NATO’s limited role in that confrontation to question the alliance’s value and to argue that the US carries too much of the security burden. Regional outlets note that Congress and many US officials are resisting these ideas, but they see the debate as part of a wider struggle over how the West deals with Iran and Middle East security.

• •Trump connects his criticism of NATO to what he sees as weak European involvement in the current conflict with Iran.
• •Middle Eastern outlets report that Trump again raised the idea of leaving NATO while campaigning, drawing pushback from US lawmakers.
• •Regional coverage links NATO debates in Washington to disagreements over how hard to confront Iran.
• •Commentators in the region argue that uncertainty over US commitment to NATO could spill over into doubts about US security guarantees in the Middle East.
• •Reports note that Congress’s resistance to Trump’s NATO exit talk reflects concern that leaving would embolden Iran and other regional rivals.