NATO rejects Trump's calls for help as UK allows US use of bases for defensive strikes near Strait of Hormuz, deepening transatlantic rift
March 21st, 2026: Iran launches failed missiles at US-UK Diego Garcia baseNew here? Follow stories to track developments over time. Create a free account to get updates when stories you care about change.
For 23 days since February 28, 2026, the US and Israel have conducted bombing campaigns against Iran under Operations Epic Fury and Roaring Lion, prompting Iranian retaliation against US bases and NATO sites including French bases in Abu Dhabi, RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, and a missile over Turkey. France authorized US support aircraft at Istres on March 5 with strict limits, but on March 16 European NATO allies rejected President Trump's demands for military assistance to reopen the Iranian-blocked Strait of Hormuz—Trump called the rejection a 'very foolish mistake' and declared the US needs no one's help.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer authorized US defensive strikes from British bases while resisting wider military involvement. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said the alliance would not discuss Article 5 despite Iranian fire on allied territory. The Strait of Hormuz remains blocked, cutting off 20% of global crude supplies.
Why it matters
Strait closure threatens global energy prices and supplies; NATO members are divided on how to respond, risking alliance cohesion.
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"It is a curious thing about great alliances — they hold together magnificently right up until the moment someone is actually asked to do something."
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"It is the peculiar genius of modern alliance-craft that a nation may bomb its neighbour's neighbour, draw its friends into the subsequent fire, and then denounce those friends as cowards for declining to enlarge the conflagration — all while insisting it needs no one's help, which is the one thing the evidence abundantly confirms."
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The 32-member military alliance faces its most acute dilemma since the 2001 invocation of Article 5 after the September 11 attacks: Iranian weapons have struck territory defended by NATO members, but the war was started by a NATO member, not directed at one.
France maintains approximately 900 military personnel across naval and air bases in the United Arab Emirates under defense agreements dating to 1995, plus defense commitments to Qatar, Kuwait, Jordan, and Iraq.
Hosts RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, struck by Iran on March 2; shares Diego Garcia base with US.
February 2026 March 2026
Iran fired two intermediate-range ballistic missiles at the remote US-UK base in the Indian Ocean; both failed or were intercepted with no damage. Strike followed UK authorization of US use of British bases for Hormuz operations.
President Trump posted that the US does not need NATO, Japan, Australia, or South Korea's help in the Iran war, following allies' refusal to join Hormuz reopening efforts.
US-aligned NATO nations in Europe rebuffed President Trump's request for military help to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, with EU's Kaja Kallas stating 'this is not Europe’s war.'
Prime Minister Keir Starmer allowed US forces to use UK bases for 'defensive' strikes on Iran, with Ukrainian specialists aiding Gulf drone defenses; UK resists wider war involvement.
France authorized US refueling aircraft to use the Istres air base in southern France, stipulating they must not participate in offensive operations against Iran. Four KC-135 tankers arrived. The move marks the first direct basing support from a major NATO ally.
The House of Representatives followed the Senate in rejecting a bipartisan measure to constrain the president's authority to continue the war without congressional authorization.
NATO air defenses destroyed an Iranian ballistic missile inside Turkish airspace — the first instance of Iranian fire entering NATO territory. Secretary General Rutte ruled out invoking Article 5.
The Senate voted 47-53 against a resolution to halt Trump's Iran strikes without congressional authorization. Only one Republican, Rand Paul, supported the measure.
Macron condemned the US-Israeli strikes as outside international law but said Iran bore "primary responsibility" for the war. He ordered the Charles de Gaulle carrier to the Mediterranean, deployed air defenses to Cyprus, and began evacuating French nationals.
A Shahed-type drone struck the runway at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, prompting a partial evacuation. The United Kingdom said it was "not at war" despite the attack.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps confirmed it had closed the strait using drones, halting roughly 20% of global crude oil transit. Tanker traffic dropped to near zero.
Two Iranian drones hit a warehouse at Camp de la Paix, the French military facility in Abu Dhabi. The strike caused a fire but no casualties, making it the first direct Iranian attack on French forces.
The three European powers condemned Iran's "indiscriminate" attacks on countries in the region.
Operation Epic Fury (US) and Operation Roaring Lion (Israel) began with coordinated strikes on Tehran, Isfahan, Qom, and other cities. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed in an airstrike on his compound.
Iran launched missiles and drones at Israel and US military bases in Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, and Iraq. Airports in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Kuwait were struck.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said a "historic" agreement to avert conflict was possible ahead of Geneva talks.
President Trump gave Iran a 10-day deadline to reach a deal on its nuclear program or face military attack.
3 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.
France, under President Jacques Chirac, led international opposition to the US invasion of Iraq, with Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin delivering a famous speech at the United Nations Security Council. Despite the political rupture, France still granted the US military access to French airspace for overflights. Turkey, by contrast, refused to allow US ground forces to stage from its territory, forcing a last-minute rewrite of invasion plans.
France's opposition defined transatlantic relations for years. 'Freedom fries' entered the American lexicon. The US invaded Iraq without a UN mandate and without France.
France's stance was largely vindicated as the Iraq War's justifications collapsed, but the episode demonstrated that even strong political opposition didn't translate into a complete severance of military cooperation.
France's 2026 posture inverts the 2003 pattern: this time Paris is publicly condemning the war while providing more active military support, not less. The contrast reveals how Iran's direct attacks on French forces have shifted the calculus from political opposition toward defensive necessity.
France deployed roughly 20,000 troops, 14 ships, 75 aircraft, and 350 tanks to the US-led coalition to liberate Kuwait from Iraqi occupation. The French contingent, operating under the codename Daguet, captured the Al-Salman airfield 150 kilometers inside Iraqi territory within 48 hours.
France suffered no combat aircraft losses and accomplished its ground objectives rapidly. The operation reinforced France's standing as a capable military partner.
The 1991 deployment set the template for French defense agreements with Gulf states — the Abu Dhabi base that was struck by Iranian drones in 2026 traces directly to defense cooperation formalized after the Gulf War.
France's Gulf War participation established the defense agreements and permanent military presence now pulling it into the 2026 conflict. The base infrastructure Iran targeted exists because of commitments made 35 years ago.
One day after the September 11 attacks killed nearly 3,000 people, NATO invoked Article 5 — its mutual defense clause — for the first and only time in the alliance's history. All 19 members at the time agreed the attacks on the United States constituted an attack on all.
NATO deployed surveillance aircraft over the US and launched naval operations in the Mediterranean. Individual allies joined the US invasion of Afghanistan.
The invocation set the only precedent for Article 5 in practice, but critics later argued the broad interpretation contributed to a 20-year war in Afghanistan that most allies grew reluctant to sustain.
The 2001 precedent is precisely what makes the 2026 situation awkward for NATO. Article 5 was triggered when a member was attacked. In 2026, a member started the war and adversary retaliation is hitting allied territory — a scenario the treaty's drafters never anticipated.