Trump says he is strongly considering pulling out of Nato – report
Donald Trump said he is strongly considering pulling the US out of Nato, as he again likened the alliance to a “paper tiger”.
“[Nato] is beyond recognition,” he said in an interview with the Telegraph.
“I was never swayed by Nato. I always knew they were a paper tiger, and Putin knows that too, by the way.”
The US president has been levelling insults at allies in recent weeks for not helping to reopen the strait of Hormuz, which has been effectively shut down by Iran as the Middle East war rages on.
“Beyond not being there, it was actually hard to believe. And I didn’t do a big sale. I just said, ‘Hey’, you know, I didn’t insist too much. I just think it should be automatic,” Trump said.
He added that the US has been there for countries that needed its support, including Ukraine, even though it “wasn’t our problem”.
Taking aim at the UK, he said: “You don’t even have a navy. You’re too old and had aircraft carriers that didn’t work.”
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In last days, he specifically targeted European allies, calling them “cowards” and telling them to “build up some delayed courage” and take control over the strait of Hormuz.
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He and his senior officials also criticised a number of specific countries, particularly Spain, which has been most vocally critical of the US-Israeli war against Iran, and France.
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The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, warned last night about the sharply escalating frustration with Nato, as he told Fox News: “We are going to have to reexamine whether or not this alliance that has served this country well for a while is still serving that purpose or has now become a one-way street, where America is simply in a position to help Europe but when we need the help of our allies, they deny us basing rights and overflight.”
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Italy is the latest country to risk the US administration’s anger, after it has denied the use of an airbase in Sicily to US military planes carrying weapons for the war in Iran after the US did not follow the required authorisation procedure.
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For more on the impact of the war in Europe, follow our Europe live blog here:
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Donald Trump said he is strongly considering pulling the US out of Nato, as he again likened the alliance to a “paper tiger”.
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“[Nato] is beyond recognition,” he said in an interview with the Telegraph.
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“I was never swayed by Nato. I always knew they were a paper tiger, and Putin knows that too, by the way.”
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The US president has been levelling insults at allies in recent weeks for not helping to reopen the strait of Hormuz, which has been effectively shut down by Iran as the Middle East war rages on.
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“Beyond not being there, it was actually hard to believe. And I didn’t do a big sale. I just said, ‘Hey’, you know, I didn’t insist too much. I just think it should be automatic,” Trump said.
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He added that the US has been there for countries that needed its support, including Ukraine, even though it “wasn’t our problem”.
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Taking aim at the UK, he said: “You don’t even have a navy. You’re too old and had aircraft carriers that didn’t work.”
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Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese has warned the months ahead “may not be easy” because of the oil crisis caused by the Middle East war.
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“The months ahead may not be easy. I want to be upfront about that. No government can promise to eliminate the pressures that this war is causing,” he said in a rare national address.
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“I can promise we will do everything we can to protect Australia from the worst of it.”
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He urged Australians not to panic buy fuel and to trade cars for public transport where possible.
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“If you’re hitting the road, don’t take more fuel than you need — just fill up like you normally would. Think of others in your community, in the bush and in critical industries,” he said.
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prime minister Anthony Albanese seated in his office in a pre-recorded address to the nation. “,”caption”:”Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese in a pre-recorded address to the nation.”,”credit”:”Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP”}}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1775031794000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”04.23 EDT”,”blockLastUpdated”:1775032616000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”04.36 EDT”,”blockFirstPublished”:1775032356000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”04.32 EDT”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”04.32″,”title”:”Albanese says months ahead ‘may not be easy’ as he urges Australians to save fuel”,”contributors”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Wed 1 Apr 2026 05.34 EDT”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Wed 1 Apr 2026 00.36 EDT”},{“id”:”69ccbbfc8f08d1f29e6d48dc”,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Houthi forces in Yemen have claimed responsibility for a missile attack on southern Israel this morning, saying it was a joint operation with Iran and Hezbollah.
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In a statement, the Houthi movement said it carried out its third missile attack in the conflict “in conjunction with Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon”.
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The Houthis “carried out the third military operation… targeting sensitive Israeli enemy targets… with a barrage of ballistic missiles”, the Tehran-backed group said.
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It threatened “further escalation” if Israel continues to attack Lebanon, Iran, Iraq, the occupied West Bank and Gaza.
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The statement comes about three hours after the Israeli military said a ballistic missile launched by the Houthis in Yemen at southern Israel was intercepted. No injuries were reported.
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French President Emmanuel Macron has praised Europe’s “predictability” during a visit to Japan on Wednesday, contrasting it with countries that “could hurt you without even informing you” in an apparent swipe at Donald Trump, reports AFP.
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“I’m well aware that sometimes Europe can be seen as a continent that is slower than others,” Macron told an audience of Japanese business leaders and investors in Tokyo.
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“But predictability has value, and we have demonstrated that over all these past years and, dare I say, even these past weeks: we are where you know we will go,” he added.
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Macron criticised countries that said they were “going much faster” than their allies, but “you don’t know whether the day after tomorrow they will still be in that position, and whether tomorrow they won’t make a decision that could hurt you without even informing you”.
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The remark was an apparent reference to the US-Israeli war on Iran, which has led to the effective closures of the strait of Hormuz, a waterway that Japan depends upon for its energy imports.
n The US president criticised France on Tuesday, writing on social media that Paris had been “very unhelpful” during the war with Iran.
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The Israeli military said its air defences responded to a missile attack from Iran on Wednesday, with warning sirens activated across central Israel.
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“A short while ago, the IDF (army) identified missiles launched from Iran toward the territory of the State of Israel. Defensive systems are operating to intercept the threat,” a military statement said.
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One person has been killed after debris from an intercepted drone fell on a farm in Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates, state media said.
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The individual killed was a Bangladeshi national.
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A tanker struck off Qatar was hit by two projectiles, one causing a fire that has since been extinguished and another remaining unexploded in the vessel’s engine room, the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said on Wednesday.
n The vessel was struck about 17 nautical miles (31 km) north of Qatar’s Ras Laffan industrial hub, causing damage above the waterline, with the crew safe and no environmental impact, reported AFP.
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Australia’s Treasurer Jim Chalmers has unveiled a suite of Covid-era support measures for businesses struggling with soaring fuel prices, while Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese is set to address the nation in the latest sign the government is preparing for a more severe economic downturn from the war.
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“The war in the Middle East is having an extreme impact on the global economy. Australians and Australian small businesses are paying the price for that,” the treasurer told reporters on Wednesday.
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The support package will include more generous Australian Taxation Office payment plans, doing away with penalties and interest on unpaid tax debts, and offering support to defer PAYG payments where the business has suffered a hit to their revenue “due to fuel supply issues”.
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The ATO will also hold off on chasing unpaid tax debts.
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Anthony Albanese will deliver an address to the nation on Wednesday night at 7pm AEDT, where he’s expected to encourage Australians to play their part in the fuel crisis, including helping to save fuel for areas that need it.
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Hello and welcome to our continuing coverage of the US-Israel war on Iran and the wider repercussions throughout the Middle East and globally.
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Donald Trump said on Tuesday that US forces would end operations in Iran “very soon,” suggesting a timeline of two to three weeks. The US president also told reporters that the responsibility for keeping the strait of Hormuz open will rest with countries that rely on it. “That’s not for us … That’ll be for whoever’s using the strait,” he said.
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Later, US secretary of state Marco Rubio told Fox News the US would need to reevaluate the Nato relationship after the conflict in Iran concludes, saying: “I do think, unfortunately, we are going to have to re-examine whether or not this alliance that has served this country well for a while is still serving that purpose.
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“If now we have reached a point where the Nato alliance means that we can’t use [US military bases in Europe]… then Nato is a one-way street.”
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Here is a summary of the latest developments:
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Donald Trump will provide an update on the Iran war in an address to the nation at 9pm EST on Wednesday (0100 BST on Thursday), White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt has announced.
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Two-thirds of Americans believe that the US should work to end its involvement in the Iran war quickly, even if that means not achieving the goals set out by the Trump administration, a Reuters/Ipsos poll has found.
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Asian markets rose sharply early on Wednesday after US stocks soared to their best day in almost a year on renewed hopes that the Iran war could soon end. South Korea’s Kospi surged 6.4% in early trading, while Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 rose 4%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up 1.9%, while the Shanghai Composite index was trading 1.4% higher.
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Thousands of additional US troops are heading to the Middle East. The aircraft carrier USS George HW Bush deployed on Tuesday and is slated to travel to the region along with three destroyers, two US officials said. The carrier strike group consists of more than 6,000 personnel.
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The Israeli military said on Wednesday it had identified the launch of a missile from Yemen towards Israel. It said defence systems were operating to intercept the missile.
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Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB said areas in northern, eastern and central Tehran were under attack on Wednesday morning. The broadcaster said on Telegram that explosions were heard in the capital’s north, east and centre, reporting “attacks on Tehran” without immediately providing more details.
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A drone attack has sparked a large fire at Kuwait international airport, according to its state news agency, which said no casualties had been reported, while in the last few hours Saudi Arabia has said it intercepted and destroyed two drones. Bahrain also said early on Wednesday that it was working to extinguish a fire at a business facility that resulted from an Iranian attack. A tanker also came under attack off the coast of Qatar early on Wednesday, according to the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre.
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Israeli strikes in southern Beirut and a nearby area have killed seven people, according to Lebanon’s health ministry.
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An American journalist has been kidnapped in Baghdad by a suspected Iranian-backed Iraqi armed group, the US said. The journalist was identified as Shelly Kittleson, a freelancer, by media advocacy groups as well as Al-Monitor, one of the news outlets for which she worked.
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The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the United Arab Emirates is preparing to help the US open the strait of Hormuz by force. Citing Arab officials, the newspaper reported the UAE is lobbying for a UN security council resolution that would authorise such action.
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Key events
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Trump’s frustration with Nato over its refusal to back his Iran war is clear – snap analysis
Jakub Krupa
Trump’s latest comments come as he increasingly hardens his language against European allies, blaming them for difficulties in his Iran operation.
In last days, he specifically targeted European allies, calling them “cowards” and telling them to “build up some delayed courage” and take control over the strait of Hormuz.
He and his senior officials also criticised a number of specific countries, particularly Spain, which has been most vocally critical of the US-Israeli war against Iran, and France.
The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, warned last night about the sharply escalating frustration with Nato, as he told Fox News: “We are going to have to reexamine whether or not this alliance that has served this country well for a while is still serving that purpose or has now become a one-way street, where America is simply in a position to help Europe but when we need the help of our allies, they deny us basing rights and overflight.”
Italy is the latest country to risk the US administration’s anger, after it has denied the use of an airbase in Sicily to US military planes carrying weapons for the war in Iran after the US did not follow the required authorisation procedure.
For more on the impact of the war in Europe, follow our Europe live blog here:
Keir Starmer is giving an update on the Iran war at a press conference in Downing Street, where he sought to reassure the British public that the government is working on a plan to help with the cost of living.
“We will continue to stand up for the British national interest, and we continue to do what we must to guide our country calmly through this storm,” he said.
You can follow the live updates on our UK politics blog here:
The Telegraph interview follows remarks by the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, that the US may need to reconsider its relationship with Nato once the war against Iran is over.
“We’re going to have to reexamine the value of Nato and that alliance for our country,” Rubio said in an interview with Fox News last night.
“If Nato is just about us defending Europe if they’re attacked, but them denying us basing rights when we need them, that’s not a very good arrangement. That’s a hard one to stay engaged in.”
Trump said he was “glad” Rubio made the comments.
When asked by the Telegraph whether Keir Starmer should spend more on defence, Trump said: “I’m not going to tell him what to do. He can do whatever he wants. It doesn’t matter.
“All Starmer wants is costly windmills that are driving your energy prices through the roof.”
Trump says he is strongly considering pulling out of Nato – report
Donald Trump said he is strongly considering pulling the US out of Nato, as he again likened the alliance to a “paper tiger”.
“[Nato] is beyond recognition,” he said in an interview with the Telegraph.
“I was never swayed by Nato. I always knew they were a paper tiger, and Putin knows that too, by the way.”
The US president has been levelling insults at allies in recent weeks for not helping to reopen the strait of Hormuz, which has been effectively shut down by Iran as the Middle East war rages on.
“Beyond not being there, it was actually hard to believe. And I didn’t do a big sale. I just said, ‘Hey’, you know, I didn’t insist too much. I just think it should be automatic,” Trump said.
He added that the US has been there for countries that needed its support, including Ukraine, even though it “wasn’t our problem”.
Taking aim at the UK, he said: “You don’t even have a navy. You’re too old and had aircraft carriers that didn’t work.”
Rebecca Ratcliffe
Governments across Asia are ramping up their use of coal, the dirtiest fossil fuel, as they try to cover huge energy shortfalls triggered by the US-Israel war on Iran.
The move has triggered warnings from climate experts who point to coal’s devastating environmental impact, and say the energy crisis should be a wake up call for governments to invest in renewables, which can offer a more stable supply that is not exposed to price shocks.
Across the region, from Bangladesh to South Korea, governments are trying to compensate for a drop off in imported energy, much of which comes from the Middle East.
South Korea said it will delay the shutdown of coal-fired power plants and has lifted caps on electricity from coal, while in Thailand, the government has increased output at the country’s largest coal-fired plant. The Philippines, which has declared a “national energy emergency” as a result of the war, also plans to boost operations of its coal-fired power plants.
In South Asia, India, which relies on coal for nearly 75% of its power generation, has asked its coal plants to run at maximum capacity and avoid planned outages, while Bangladesh increased coal-fired power generation and coal-fired power imports in March.
Read the full report here:
Albanese says months ahead ‘may not be easy’ as he urges Australians to save fuel
Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese has warned the months ahead “may not be easy” because of the oil crisis caused by the Middle East war.
“The months ahead may not be easy. I want to be upfront about that. No government can promise to eliminate the pressures that this war is causing,” he said in a rare national address.
“I can promise we will do everything we can to protect Australia from the worst of it.”
He urged Australians not to panic buy fuel and to trade cars for public transport where possible.
“If you’re hitting the road, don’t take more fuel than you need — just fill up like you normally would. Think of others in your community, in the bush and in critical industries,” he said.
The National Bank of Kuwait said it is closing its headquarters for two days as the Gulf nation continues to face Iranian attacks.
The bank’s headquarters in the capital Kuwait City and a branch in Subhan, which is close to the airport, were closed “due to current developments and in the interest of everyone’s safety and business continuity”, it said in a statement.
It follows reports of an Iranian drone attack at Kuwait airport which struck fuel tanks at the site, triggering a large fire.
The Israeli military said a strike in central Iran killed what it described as a senior engineering officer of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Mahdi Vafaei, chief of engineering in the IRGC Quds Force’s Lebanon Corps, was killed in the strike yesterday in Mahallat.
The IDF claimed Vafaei “advanced underground projects across Lebanon and Syria” for two decades, including “dozens of underground projects in Lebanon that were used to store advanced weaponry”.
There was no immediate comment from Iran.
An 11-year-old girl is in critical condition and a 13-year-old boy was seriously injured after a missile attack in Bnei Brak in central Israel this morning, according to Israeli media.
Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency medical service said 14 people have been wounded in the attack.
Qatar’s defence ministry has also confirmed the missile attack on the oil tanker, saying the 21 crew members were evacuated from the vessel with no injuries.
In a statement this morning, the ministry said Qatar was targeted by three cruise missiles from Iran. The Qatari armed forces intercepted two missiles, while the third struck an oil tanker leased to QatarEnergy.
“Procedures were taken and coordination with the relevant authorities to evacuate the oil tanker, which has a crew of (21) persons, without any human casualties,” the ministry said in a post on X.
QatarEnergy, the world’s largest producer of liquefied natural gas (LNG), confirmed one of its tankers was hit in a missile strike this morning.
“None of the crew members on board were injured, and there is no impact on the environment as a result of this incident,” the state-owned company said in a statement.
As reported earlier, the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said a tanker off the coast of Qatar was hit by two projectiles, one causing a fire that has since been extinguished and another remaining unexploded in the vessel’s engine room.
The vessel was struck about 17 nautical miles (31 km) north of Qatar’s Ras Laffan industrial hub.
