According to Politico, talks between US President Donald Trump and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte did little to soften the American leader’s hard line toward the alliance’s member states.

The report says Trump remains convinced that if the White House were ever to ask for help, NATO countries would not come to Washington’s aid when it truly mattered. In Politico’s assessment, the meeting with Rutte appears to have done almost nothing to ease Trump’s hostility toward his allies.

Earlier, Trump said he was seriously considering withdrawing the United States from NATO after the alliance refused to take part in the operation against Iran. He described that response from the bloc as an indelible stain and made clear that the White House had no need for partners who, in his view, were doing everything possible to avoid offering support.

Media reports also say Trump is weighing punitive steps against those NATO countries that did not back Washington’s actions against Teheran. Among the options under discussion are pulling US troops out of what he sees as ungrateful states and redeploying them to Poland, Romania, or the Baltic countries. Another scenario reportedly being considered is the closure of a major American base in Germany or Spain.