Trump Lands at Ankara NATO Summit With Iran Dispute Hanging Over the Alliance

President Trump is attending a NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, on July 8-9, arriving at the gathering openly frustrated with several European allies over how they responded to the U.S. military campaign against Iran, dubbed Operation Epic Fury.

U.S. Ambassador Matthew Whitaker said the president is "disappointed" by allies that refused to grant overflight rights while the strikes were underway. The friction has been sharpest with Madrid: Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez branded the American war in Iran "illegal, absurd and cruel," and Spain denied U.S. forces the use of its territory and airspace. Trump has previously said bluntly, "There's a problem with Spain."

Other allies drew Washington's irritation in varying degrees. The United Kingdom initially declined to support the operation before reversing course. Italy restricted its involvement to logistics, and Germany's role was limited to serving as a logistics hub.

The formal agenda in Ankara covers defense spending, Ukraine, and NATO's long-term strategy toward Russia. Trump has signaled that he came to the summit largely because of his relationship with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Behind the scenes, the administration is weighing "countermeasures" against allies that fail to meet the benchmark of spending 5% of GDP on defense. Whitaker also pointed to significant disparities in military capabilities across the alliance's members.

The tensions on display in Ankara underscore Trump's long-running complaints about burden-sharing within NATO, and raise fresh questions about how far allies are prepared to commit to missions beyond the traditional defense of Europe.