The war in Iran has further deteriorated transatlantic relations

By Andrea Shalal

In recent weeks, those who believed Europe could smoothly overcome its strained relations with President Donald Trump have been far from reassured.

This week, Donald Trump targeted German Chancellor Friedrich Merz after his criticisms of the war in Iran, calling him “totally ineffective” and threatening to withdraw the 36,400 US troops stationed in Germany.

The American president also criticized British Prime Minister Keir Starmer back in March on a very personal level, lamenting that he is “not Winston Churchill” and threatening “enormous tariffs” on imports from the UK.

Even more worrying for Europeans, the US Department of Defense has discussed punitive measures against NATO allies deemed insufficiently supportive of American operations in the war against Iran, including the suspension of Spain from the Alliance and a review of American recognition of the Falkland Islands as British territory.

“This is at least destabilizing,” a European diplomat told Reuters on condition of anonymity. “We are preparing for everything, at all times.”

These new American attacks, fueled by disagreements over the war in Iran, appear to bring US-Europe relations back to the early days of Donald Trump’s second term and revive questions on the best way to deal with this unpredictable ally.

A second European diplomat believes that former German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose relations with Donald Trump were frosty during his first term, had shown the right approach.

“We have all learned a bit about handling Trump. We must not react immediately, we must let the storm pass, while remaining firmly on our positions,” he said.

Even those who attempted flattery faced the presidential wrath, he added. “Everyone who tried received their share of insults, like the others. Everyone now understands that flattery does not work either.”

BACK IN THE CROSSHAIRS

Transatlantic relations were already weakened by Donald Trump’s repeated attacks last year on various subjects, including his desire to reduce the US trade deficit by imposing massive tariffs, wanting to acquire Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, a NATO member, and significantly reducing American support for Ukraine.

Some leaders, including Keir Starmer, Friedrich Merz, and Italian Council President Giorgia Meloni, have tried to stabilize the ties through regular visits, commercial agreements, and policy adjustments, but without preventing subsequent vilification by Donald Trump.

The escalation of the conflict with Iran by the United States and Israel, without any Western leaders being previously warned, widened the gap between the two sides of the Atlantic.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, often seen in Europe as Donald Trump’s lapdog and a master of flattery, himself became the target of Donald Trump’s ire during a meeting at the White House.

Even ideological proximity did not spare Italian Council President Giorgia Meloni, who criticized the opening of the Iranian front and spoke out against Donald Trump’s verbal attacks on Pope Leo XIV.

While many members of the American administration show skepticism and marked disdain towards Europe, not all Republicans support the president’s line.

“Attacks against NATO allies are counterproductive, these remarks harm Americans,” Republican Representative Don Bacon wrote on Thursday, following the threat of reducing military forces in Germany.

“The two large air bases in Germany give us privileged access to three continents. We are shooting ourselves in the foot.”

Some of Donald Trump’s social media posts this week caught European officials off guard.

Less than two hours before Donald Trump’s threats, German Chief of Staff Carsten Breuer, while speaking to journalists, had received a favorable reception to the new German military strategy during an earlier meeting that day at the Pentagon with Deputy Secretary of Defense Elbridge Colby.

He had not mentioned any discussions of troop reduction, a prospect that terrifies the territories hosting US bases that derive significant revenues from them.

German military officials remained relatively calm, and military cooperation remained intact, according to a former senior American defense official. “They say, ‘We know the tune. There will be a lot of bluster, and in the end, nothing will change.'”

A MORE ASSERTIVE EUROPEAN OPPOSITION

Jeffrey Rathke, a former American diplomat and director of the American-German Institute at Johns Hopkins University, notes that European allies are now more openly opposing Donald Trump’s policies, under pressure from their public opinions.

“Friedrich Merz has become increasingly explicit in his criticisms of the American decision to go to war with Iran,” he explained. “It is quite clear that something has changed in someone who, just two months ago, took care to say, ‘It is not up to us to give lessons to the United States.'”

“The American war is not something that the German public can observe detachedly. It has direct consequences for them,” he added, citing the increase in energy costs related to the conflict.

European diplomats claim to remain committed to transatlantic ties, even as the “tectonic plates” between Europe and the United States are shifting and require adjustments.

(By Andrea Shalal; with contributions from Michel Rose in Paris, and Humeyra Pamuk and Patricia Zengerle in Washington; French version by Nicolas Delame, edited by Benoit Van Overstraeten)