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After a year of tariff threats<\/a>, insults and diplomatic clashes with European allies, President Donald Trump<\/a> is left to wage a war in Iran with only Israel by his side.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is not Winston Churchill that we\u2019re dealing with,\u201d Trump said on Monday after U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer<\/a> refused to allow the U.S. to use British bases<\/a> as part of its initial strikes, only later allowing the use of its bases for \u201cdefensive\u201d actions.<\/p>\n A day later, after Spain barred U.S. military planes from using its jointly operated bases in Andalusia, Trump said the U.S. would seek to \u201ccut off all trade with Spain,\u201d a member of the European Union\u2019s single market.<\/p>\n France, backing Spain in its row, further risked the president\u2019s ire as President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday that the strikes on Iran<\/a> were \u201coutside the framework of international law.\u201d<\/p>\n Some European leaders have remained in Trump\u2019s good graces for now. Germany\u2019s <\/strong>conservative Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who sat beside Trump when the president vented about Spain, appears to have remained in Trump\u2019s favor after permitting the U.S. Ramstein Air Base to be used amid the conflict.<\/p>\n \u201cGermany\u2019s been great,\u201d Trump said. \u201cThey\u2019re letting us land in certain areas, and we appreciate it.\u201d<\/p>\n Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reported Sunday that Trump has praised the country\u2019s far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who has said Italy would respect existing agreements on the use of bases. In a phone interview, Trump called her a \u201cgreat leader\u201d who \u201calways tries to help.\u201d<\/p>\n White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday that Trump expects \u201call of our European allies, of course, to cooperate in this long-sought-after mission,\u201d claiming Iran \u201cthreatens our European allies as well.\u201d<\/p>\n While European allies played key roles in past military interventions in Afghanistan<\/a> and Iraq, the U.S. has waged war without its allies before, with Western Europe most notably declining to send any troops to Vietnam, though some countries provided other support.<\/p>\n The continent\u2019s cautious response to the war in Iran, and Trump\u2019s broader threats, have sparked fears that a diplomatic divide could escalate into another trade confrontation, but one expert played down the rift between the trans-Atlantic partners.<\/p>\n \u201cWe should not be deceived into believing that the European governments do not really support the United States in Iran,\u201d said Fawaz Gerges, a professor of international relations at the London School of Economics.<\/p>\n \u201cWe should not really focus on the rhetoric of European leaders,\u201d he added. \u201cWe should focus on their actions and their deployment of naval and air power to support to provide other direct or indirect support for the American-Israeli war in Iran.\u201d<\/p>\n European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas <\/strong>said Friday that Washington\u2019s foreign policy shift had \u201crocked the trans-Atlantic relationship to its foundation,\u201d but appeared to align the bloc with the U.S., accusing Iran of being \u201can exporter of war.\u201d<\/p>\n She told reporters at a press conference that Iran was trying to \u201csow chaos\u201d in the region and that she saw a chance for the Iranian people to \u201cdetermine their own future.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite Europe\u2019s disagreements with Trump, \u201cdespite his bullying, despite his humiliation of Europe, most European leaders are still feel that they are dependent on the American strategic umbrella,\u201d added Gerges.<\/p>\n Spain\u2019s prime minister is \u201cthe only one who has stood up,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n While responses to requests from the U.S. have differed, Europe remains unified on the need to defend the continent from any Iranian threats.<\/p>\n Spain, Italy, France and the Netherlands have deployed naval and air assets to Cyprus, a member of the European Union, after an Iranian-made drone struck a British base in the country on Monday.<\/p>\n Spain sent its most advanced warship to the eastern Mediterranean, signaling its continued commitment to European defense cooperation despite the refusal to aid Trump.<\/p>\n Britain\u2019s Ministry of Defense said Saturday that one of its two aircraft carriers had been placed on advanced readiness, raising speculation it could be deployed to the Mediterranean.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s OK, Prime Minister Starmer, we don\u2019t need them any longer,\u201d Trump responded on Truth Social. \u201cWe don\u2019t need people that join Wars after we\u2019ve already won!\u201d<\/p>\n But the United States\u2019 various requests for European support appear to show some desire for a mutually beneficial relationship with Europe, which at times has appeared uncertain since Trump\u2019s return to office.<\/p>\n \u201cI think Trump has come to realize that Europe is important,\u201d Michael Bociurkiw, a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council\u2019s Eurasia Center, told NBC News. The president has \u201capproached many governments for support, and probably believes they are not supportive enough.\u201d<\/p>\n In 2025, Bociurkiw added, European governments were coming to Washington \u201cwith bended knee<\/a>, trying to butter Trump up\u201d as they tried to rally support from Washington for the war in Ukraine, \u201cbut I think they\u2019re realizing now that they need to act more independently.\u201d<\/p>\n A year ago, Trump called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a \u201cdictator\u201d with no \u201ccards\u201d to play, slashing support for Ukraine in its war with Russia while promoting a peace deal that would see the Eastern European nation concede vast swaths of land.<\/p>\n But Zelenskyy said Wednesday that the U.S. has now turned to it for help on anti-drone defenses<\/a>, tapping into Ukraine\u2019s years of experience combating the Iran-designed Shahed drones deployed by Russia.<\/p>\n \u201cWe received a \u2060request from the United States for specific support in protection against \u2018Shaheds\u2019 in \u200bthe Middle East region,\u201d Zelenskyy wrote on X. \u201cI gave instructions to provide the necessary means and ensure the presence of Ukrainian specialists who can guarantee the required security.\u201d<\/p>\n Zelenskyy is \u201cholding a much stronger deck of cards than he was a week ago,\u201d added Bociurkiw.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n