In an interview with The Telegraph, US President Donald Trump said he was seriously considering pulling the United States out of NATO. He said the idea was driven by the situation in the Middle East, where alliance members refused to support Washington in its operation against Teheran.

Trump also said he had always viewed NATO as a paper tiger and added that, in his opinion, Russian President Vladimir Putin understood that as well. At the same time, he stressed that the alliance had never had any influence over him.

Earlier, Trump had already said Washington did not need NATO. He made that statement after US allies declined to back the United States in the Middle East. At the time, he proposed forming a coalition to escort tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, but the initiative was rejected by the United Kingdom and Germany.

Trump also claimed that US forces had already destroyed Iran’s armed forces. On that basis, he said the United States no longer needed help from NATO countries. According to him, the same approach applied to Japan, Australia, and South Korea.