Allegations that Trump threatened European countries to cut off arms supplies to Ukraine

It has been claimed that European countries that do not support US attacks on Iran are being threatened by US President Donald Trump over Ukraine. In reports citing unnamed sources in the US press, it was alleged that Trump threatened European countries that refused to participate in the operation to open the Strait of Hormuz with cutting off arms supplies to Ukraine to force them to join the operation.

The reports stated that Trump threatened to halt supplies to the Priority Ukrainian Requirements List (PURL) system, which provides for the delivery of American weapons paid for by European allies to Ukraine.

An unnamed source in the reports referred to the joint statement issued by NATO allies on March 19 regarding the Strait of Hormuz, saying, "It was Rutte who insisted on the publication of the joint statement because Trump was threatening to withdraw from PURL and from Ukraine in general. The statement was then prepared quickly, and some countries were included in this statement later because there was not enough time for everyone to sign it immediately."

The reports stated that Rutte had met with Trump and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio several times during the two days before the statement was published.

NATO allies had issued a joint statement

Trump had requested help from NATO allies to reopen the strait, which Iran closed to transit following the attacks. Trump's request was rejected by his allies. Some European allies stated that this was impossible, while others stated that the war in question was not their war. Following these developments, at the insistence of NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, a group of countries, including France, Germany, and the UK, issued a joint statement on March 19, saying, "We express our readiness to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz."

Trump had expressed his disappointment with NATO many times

Trump had previously openly expressed his disappointment with NATO and other allies regarding the Strait of Hormuz many times and stated that the US would not forget this. US Secretary of State Rubio, in a statement last Friday, said that US military aid to Ukraine through the PURL mechanism was not affected by the war in the Middle East, but he did not rule out the possibility that the weapons in question would be given to the US military for conflicts in the Middle East. Rubio said, "If we need something for America and that thing is American-made, we will keep it for America first."