Norway’s foreign affairs minister says NATO is not an attack alliance, Trump calls NATO useless, and Politico says USA losing influence around the world because of Iran war

(Grok AI illustration)

COGwriter

We continue to see Europeans distancing themselves from US President Donald Trump as cracks in the NATO alliance grow:

21 April 2026

Norway’s foreign affairs minister Espen Barth Eide says Europe is ‘doing its part’ in the Hormuz Strait but argues NATO ‘is not party to the conflict’ in Iran.

Norway has pushed back against criticism from US President Donald Trump over what he described as “zero” European support in the conflict with Iran.

“NATO is a defensive alliance. It is not an attack alliance,” Norway’s Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide told Euronews’ Europe Today flagship morning show.

Eide said NATO members are focused on safeguarding key global trade routes, including keeping the Strait of Hormuz open. “NATO countries are doing something, but it’s not as a party to a conflict,” he added.

Trump has repeatedly criticised NATO allies for not backing Washington in the Iran conflict. https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2026/04/21/appetite-among-nato-members-to-join-iran-war-very-limited-says-norwegian-foreign-affairs-m

In a series of posts on Truth Social, Trump claimed that NATO had reached out offering support but said he had rejected the proposal outright. “I told them to stay away, unless they just want to load up their ships with oil. They were useless when needed, a Paper Tiger!” he wrote, underscoring his continued skepticism toward the Western military alliance. 04/17/26 https://www.msn.com/en-in/money/topstories/useless-when-needed-a-paper-tiger-trump-slams-nato-amid-complete-hormuz-opening/ar-AA21947o?gemSnapshotKey=GMECACF32B-snapshot-4&uxmode=ruby&apiversion=v2&domshim=1&noservercache=1&noservertelemetry=1&batchservertelemetry=1&renderwebcomponents=1&wcseo=1

Notice that the Norwegian Foreign ‌Minister sees NATO as different than what Donald Trump wants.

In December 2025, we produced the following NATO related video:

14:59

USA to leave NATO?

There are bills being promoted by US politicians in both the US Senate and the US House of Representatives to have the USA leave NATO alliance by 2027. There is also the new National Security Strategy report from the Trump Administration which looks to change NATO. Europe is offended, but is preparing for this to take place. How so? By taking economic (expanding trade relations) and military (by increased spending and added troops) steps And it is the military preparations by Europe that should most concern the United States. Dr. Thiel points out how the fragmented state of the European Union will lead to the reorganization of Europe (Revelation 17:12-13) which will ultimately bring about the rise of the prophesied King of the North (Daniel 11:39-43). Could a blitzkrieg type of an attack under the guise of a NATO-type exercise lead to the conquering of the USA? Scriptures quoted by Dr. Thiel point out that when this reorganization of Europe takes place the destruction and enslavement of the United States of America, the nation with the strongest fortresses, is not far behind. Daniel 8:23 tells us this King of the North understands “sinister schemes”. Could one of those sinister schemes be the destruction of the United States? Are there other scriptures that confirm this destruction? Who is Assyria? Who is Samaria? Who is Ephraim? The answer is surprising but makes clear many scriptures that were sealed until the time of the end. The answer to the identity of Assyria, Samaria and Ephraim as referred to by the prophets Isaiah and Hosea is provided by Dr. Thiel in this video. Watch this video as Dr. Thiel shines the light of Biblical prophecy on the future of the United States of America and its British descended allies. Listen as Dr. Thiel explains the scriptures that prophesy the end of the United States by its friends, such as Lamentations 1:1-2. The time is getting closer.

Here is a link to our video: USA to leave NATO?

Politico posted the following:

Iran war accelerates America’s breakup with the world

April 20, 2026

The Iran war is damaging America’s influence around the world and exacerbating tensions with countries already whipsawed by President Donald Trump’s second term — an erosion of power that could be tough to reverse as U.S. adversaries such as China take advantage.

From Bangladesh to Slovenia, fuel rationing has throttled transportation, frustrating leaders dealing with the fallout of a war they did not want. In Muslim-majority countries, anti-U.S. narratives are flooding the airwaves, often with tacit permission from governments. Even America’s allies in NATO have limited their help to the U.S., with some stressing the Trump administration did not consult them before launching the fight with Iran.

The war appears to be accelerating what some see as a U.S. break-up with much of the rest of the planet since Trump returned to office and began flexing U.S. economic and military might in haphazard ways, including tariffs.

“A lot of people are fed up with how chaotic this war has been and scared of the potential economic impact, but I haven’t seen any major protests in response,” a Washington-based Asian diplomat said, having been granted anonymity because the topic is sensitive. “If a more reasonable person becomes the next president, the image of the U.S. might improve, but for policymakers this raises some tough long-term questions about the alliance, how far we can go to stay aligned with the U.S. and what we should do if we can’t rely on the U.S. anymore.” …

Fewer friends on the battlefield

The strain on America’s military alliances has been impossible to ignore as the war continues.

In previous wars in the region, U.S. presidents have managed to rally even reluctant allies to the cause. That included the Trump administration asking for help in defending Israeli cities and civilian infrastructure in the region from Iranian attacks last year.

This time the Trump administration didn’t brief even its closest allies beforehand, according to two diplomats from European countries, and hasn’t made clear asks of them since.

That has had an effect. In response to the closure of the strait, the U.K. and France have convened several meetings with dozens of allied states, but not the U.S., to devise a plan to keep the strait open after the war ends.

The European initiative will be aimed at conducting defensive operations to protect commercial shipping in the strait, but timing, and the forces to be involved, remain a work in progress.

That comes as the European Union is also exploring ways to beef up the bloc’s collective defense mechanism, Article 42.7, should it be tested in a move that can be seen as a response to Trump administration threats to take Greenland by force. …

Diplomatic debacles

The war in Iran has also damaged America’s reputation and sway in countries where U.S. efforts to strengthen relations face tough competition.

In an excerpt of a State Department cable dated Thursday, U.S. diplomats at the American Embassy in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, warned that “the conflict in Iran has led to the emergence of a persistent anti-American narrative in Tajikistan’s heavily constrained media environment as foreign actors deepen their influence and local outlets chase clicks and external funding.” …

Similar cables sent from U.S. diplomats in Bahrain, Indonesia and Azerbaijan — and previously reported upon by POLITICO — also described a proliferation of anti-U.S. messaging and warned that, in some cases, America’s security and diplomatic ties were at risk. https://www.politico.com/news/2026/04/20/iran-war-us-world-influence-00882028

The USA is increasingly isolating itself. The following prophecy is getting closer to being fulfilled:

1 How lonely sits the city
That was full of people!
How like a widow is she,
Who was great among the nations!
The princess among the provinces
Has become a slave!

2 She weeps bitterly in the night,
Her tears are on her cheeks;
Among all her lovers
She has none to comfort her.
All her friends have dealt treacherously with her;
They have become her enemies. (Lamentations 1:1-2)

The USA has been great among the nations.

Yet, is has been pushing NATO and other allies away, consistent with biblical prophecies such as Lamentations 1:1-2.

As I have written before, this will not only not end end well for the USA (Daniel 11:39; Isaiah 10:5-11), it will end up badly for even many Muslim countries (cf. Daniel 11:40-43), and ultimately, even Europe itself (cf. Daniel 11:45; Revelation 17:14).