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Trump Says ‘Ridiculous’ for US to Maintain Current Support for NATO

A paper collector pulls his handcart past billboards displayed along the boulevard on the protocol route ahead of the NATO Summit in Ankara, on July 2, 2026. (AFP)
A paper collector pulls his handcart past billboards displayed along the boulevard on the protocol route ahead of the NATO Summit in Ankara, on July 2, 2026. (AFP)
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Trump Says ‘Ridiculous’ for US to Maintain Current Support for NATO

A paper collector pulls his handcart past billboards displayed along the boulevard on the protocol route ahead of the NATO Summit in Ankara, on July 2, 2026. (AFP)
A paper collector pulls his handcart past billboards displayed along the boulevard on the protocol route ahead of the NATO Summit in Ankara, on July 2, 2026. (AFP)

President Donald Trump said Thursday it is "ridiculous" for the United States to continue its "one sided" relationship with NATO, less than a week before a NATO summit in Ankara.

Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform: "They were not there for us!!!" and Washington's relationship with NATO "is not reciprocal."

Trump has repeatedly lashed out at European allies over their response to the war in Iran, as several countries restricted the use of bases for US forces.

Trump also insists he wants Europe to take the lead role for its own defense, and Washington has already moved to scale back commitments.

His Truth Social post on Thursday included a chart displaying the amount of NATO spending, with the United States investing vastly more than a few other member states depicted.

Under pressure from Trump, NATO leaders had agreed at a gathering last year to boost defense-related spending to five percent of GDP by 2035.

The upcoming NATO summit, which will bring together 32 member states, will be held in the Turkish capital on July 7-8.

The alliance, founded in 1949, became a US-led defense force credited with maintaining stability in Europe, keeping the Soviet Union at bay and solidifying Washington as a world power for decades to come.

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World

Iran Working to Finalize Hormuz Agreement with Oman

FILE PHOTO: Vessels near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, August 10, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Vessels near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, August 10, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
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Iran Working to Finalize Hormuz Agreement with Oman

FILE PHOTO: Vessels near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, August 10, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Vessels near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, August 10, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo

Iran said Monday it has reached an agreement with Oman over a plan for ships to transit the Strait of Hormuz, which runs between the two countries, and the sides are now working to finalize details for a joint statement.

Iranian Foreign Affairs spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told reporters in Tehran that “an understanding has been reached regarding the map of the transit route.”

He did not elaborate, but details that have previously emerged suggest the deal would reopen the strait with ships entering through a route close to Iran and exiting through a route close to Oman. Ships would transit without paying fees or tolls during the interim period.

The US has sought an acceptable deal on opening the strait before ending its blockade of Iranian ports and it was not clear whether this would meet Washington’s expectations.

Iran effectively closed the strait — through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s traded oil supplies passed before the war — after Israel and the US attacked the country on Feb. 28.

Baghaei conceded the talks with Oman have gone slowly, “but we had planned, and still plan, to finalize the understanding in the form of a package: the map plus a joint statement.”

His comments came as a 60-day deadline for finding an agreement to end the war expired, with no signs of a deal between the US and Iran.

World

Residents Jeer French PM on Visit to Fire-Hit Region

France's Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu arrives for a meeting with officials at Technowest in Merignac, on the outskirts of Bordeaux, south-western France on August 17, 2026 following the giant wildfire. (AFP)
France's Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu arrives for a meeting with officials at Technowest in Merignac, on the outskirts of Bordeaux, south-western France on August 17, 2026 following the giant wildfire. (AFP)
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Residents Jeer French PM on Visit to Fire-Hit Region

France's Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu arrives for a meeting with officials at Technowest in Merignac, on the outskirts of Bordeaux, south-western France on August 17, 2026 following the giant wildfire. (AFP)
France's Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu arrives for a meeting with officials at Technowest in Merignac, on the outskirts of Bordeaux, south-western France on August 17, 2026 following the giant wildfire. (AFP)

Dozens of residents on Monday jeered the French prime minister as he arrived in a region hit by wildfires earlier this summer, in a show of anger over the government's handling of the worst such crisis in France in decades.

Some 200 people dressed in black gathered in front of the town hall in Le Porge in southwestern France, where 183 homes burned down when wildfires swept through the Gironde region in late July and early August, at one point even threatening the city of Bordeaux.

They jeered, whistled and shouted anti-government slogans as the tinted-window car with a flashing light carrying Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu approached for a meeting with the mayor of Le Porge, Martial Zaninetti, an AFP correspondent said.

"Where is he? Where is he?" the crowd shouted.

"It would have been the least he could do" for the prime minister to meet the residents, said Tony Veiga, a 65-year-old pensioner. "It really amounts to treating us as if we don't matter."

Lecornu's office said he had spoken with affected residents and farmers.

"We have absolutely nothing to hide regarding how fire protection operations have been conducted over the past few weeks," Lecornu said as he met local officials in the nearby town of Merignac after leaving Le Porge.

He had already visited Le Porge on Sunday afternoon to tour the municipality with the mayor -- a trip that had not been announced and took place without press cameras.

There is anger in the region among some residents who allege authorities prioritized fighting fires in the upscale Cap-Ferret peninsula -- where many affluent Parisians take holidays -- over protecting homes of local residents.

"He doesn't want to meet us; it's a shame. We had things we wanted to say," said Ludivine Daurignac, organizer of a group of affected residents who plan to file complaints and get "truth, transparency, and justice".

"We were met by lines of riot police blocking our access," she said.

Having burned through 42,000 hectares, the fire was brought under control on August 1.

It was the largest such fire in France by surface area since 1949, with the flames coming within 15 kilometers (10 miles) of the Bordeaux metropolitan area and forcing the evacuation of more than 220,000 residents and tourists.

World

Iran Says 2 French Embassy Employees Barred from Returning

An Iranian rides a motorbike past a political billboard displayed at the Valiasr square in Tehran, Iran, 17 August 2026. (As mandated by Iran's Directorate General for Foreign Media)
An Iranian rides a motorbike past a political billboard displayed at the Valiasr square in Tehran, Iran, 17 August 2026. (As mandated by Iran's Directorate General for Foreign Media)
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Iran Says 2 French Embassy Employees Barred from Returning

An Iranian rides a motorbike past a political billboard displayed at the Valiasr square in Tehran, Iran, 17 August 2026. (As mandated by Iran's Directorate General for Foreign Media)
An Iranian rides a motorbike past a political billboard displayed at the Valiasr square in Tehran, Iran, 17 August 2026. (As mandated by Iran's Directorate General for Foreign Media)

Iran said on Monday that two French embassy employees involved in a diplomatic dispute last month would not be allowed to return to Iran.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said the two had violated the Vienna Convention - which defines the rules and privileges of diplomatic missions - engaging in activities supporting Iranian civil society.

"Insisting that these individuals were engaged ⁠in activities related to ⁠supporting civil society is itself an admission that the Vienna Convention was violated," Baghaei told a weekly press conference, without elaborating.

Tehran has long been highly sensitive to what ⁠it sees as Western meddling in its internal affairs, especially since the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran in late February in a conflict that continues to rage.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, in an interview with France Inter last month, said the mission of the two embassy employees concerned ⁠was ⁠to "develop programs supporting Iranian civil society, students, and artists (...) France is one of the countries in the world that does the most for Iranian civil society, and we have paid the price for it."

France summoned Iran's charge d'affaires on July 21 after accusing Iranian security forces of detaining and physically intimidating its embassy staff in Tehran.