US President Donald Trump called NATO a “paper tiger” and said he had been “testing” the alliance when he sought its support for the war on Iran during a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on 7 July in Ankara.

“In a way, I was testing people. I was testing to see whether or not they’d be there because I’ve long said that we help them, but I’m not sure that they’d be there for us.”

Trump had berated his European allies for failing to support his war on Iran, and said that NATO as a whole would cease to exist without the US bearing the majority of the financial burden.

“Italy turned us down and Germany turned us down and France turned us down,” adding, “Why are we spending hundreds of billions of dollars, and they’re not there for us, we’re always there for them.”

Erdogan welcomed the summit and Trump’s presence, saying it would add “greater strength and significance” to the meeting.

When asked about the possible sale of F-35 fighter jets to Turkiye, Trump said, “It’s a decision we’re going to make.”

“We have a better relationship with Turkey, and Turkey’s been, in many ways, much more loyal than other countries that we think would be loyal,” Trump stated. “So, it’s something, certainly, we would consider.”

The NATO spending realignment demanded by the US centers on a proposed five percent of GDP spending target for all member states to reach by 2035.

Canada’s military budget is estimated to be about 2.5 percent in 2026, halfway to the mark demanded by the US.

At least $50 billion in new military contracts were announced during the NATO forum, including plans to launch a multinational strategic airlift fleet and replace the alliance’s aging airborne early-warning aircraft with a European-made platform.

The forum also announced new transport aircraft, surveillance and reconnaissance systems, drones, missile projects, satellite initiatives, and ammunition programs.

Trump has long pushed NATO allies to increase military spending as the US seeks to divert its military capabilities to other theaters, and after several member states refused to back the US-Israeli war on Iran.

Washington began weighing punitive measures, even reportedly drawing up a tiered list ranking allies by their level of support.  Pentagon officials are floating options such as suspending Spain from the alliance.

Germany has already signaled compliance earlier, with its cabinet approving a $125-billion defense budget for 2027 – a nearly one-third increase aimed at meeting NATO targets and satisfying Washington’s demands.

The draft budget earmarks billions for Ukraine aid and extensive new borrowing to fund a rapid military modernization.

For months, Washington had been accelerating a major drawdown of its regional presence, planning to slash assigned fighter jets by one-third and reallocate aircraft carriers.

This transition, titled “NATO 3.0,” demands that allies assume “full responsibility” for their own conventional defense while the US pivots its core military assets to the Asia-Pacific to prepare for potential conflict with China by 2027.