As President Donald Trump continues to express anger at NATO European allies for their lack of help in the war with Iran, he’s making clear their behavior comes at a cost.

In the weeks during the war and since the ceasefire, the president has hit back not just with words but with definitive actions against several of those countries.

Germany

On Saturday, Trump said that he would withdraw more than the initial 5,000 U.S. troops from Germany as stated by the Pentagon, after Berlin’s leader denigrated the American effort to stop Iran’s regime from building a nuclear weapon.

TRUMP WEIGHS PULLING US TROOPS FROM GERMANY AMID CLASH WITH CHANCELLOR OVER IRAN WAR

A day earlier he said about Germany that «We’re gonna cut way down. We’re cutting a lot further than 5,000.» The Trump administration previously announced a contraction of 5,000 troops in Germany after the country’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Iran’s regime «humiliated» Trump.

In an apparent state of panic, Merz walked back his attack on Trump and his Iran strategy on Sunday. The chancellor wrote on X: «The United States is and will remain Germany‘s most important partner in the North Atlantic Alliance. We share a common goal: Iran must not be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons.»

Trump ratcheted up his troop reduction number against Germany amid his comments about downsizing U.S. boots on the ground in Spain and Italy because they failed to aid America in the war against Iran. The president’s anger at Western European countries has been simmering for weeks and could lead to profound changes in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

TRUMP CRITICIZES SPAIN AMID IRAN, NATO RIFT AS PM SANCHEZ FACES QUESTIONS OVER POLITICAL MOTIVES

Nile Gardiner, the director of the Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom at The Heritage Foundation, told Fox News Digital, «The lack of support for the United States has been nothing less than treacherous. I think the president has the right to be outraged by the lack of support from key European allies.»

An Iranian flag is planted in the rubble of a police station, damaged in airstrikes on March 3, 2026 in Tehran, Iran. (Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)

He said, «There is a very deep-seated cultural appeasement in Europe towards the Iranian regime that goes back many decades, and a flat-out refusal to accept the reality of the immense dangers of a nuclear-armed Iran. European leaders are sleepwalking toward destruction with this perilous path they have taken.

TRUMP IS RIGHT ABOUT NATO’S WEAKNESS — THE REAL QUESTION IS HOW DOES AMERICA FIX IT

«The lack of support for the United States is how far Europe has gone toward losing its moral compass. Iran is a genocidal regime that threatens to wipe Israel off the map.» He noted that the Islamic Republic has killed huge numbers of its population.

Gardiner, a former advisor to Lady Thatcher said, «If you listen to European leaders, it’s as if the U.S. is the villain here.»

Merz, speaking last week in Marsberg, criticized the U.S. approach to Iran, saying Washington was being «humiliated by the Iranian leadership» and expressing hope the conflict would end «as quickly as possible.»

Gardiner said of Merz’s remarks that, «comments like these actually help the propaganda of the Iranian dictatorship. It is astonishing that a German chancellor would make these kinds of remarks at a time of war…and the German chancellor is giving comfort to the Iranian regime. It is disgusting.»

Numerous Fox News Digital press queries sent to Merz’s spokesman Stefan Kornelius were not returned.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called the U.S. conflict with Iran «reckless» and «unjust.» (Yves Herman/Reuters)

Spain and Italy

Before his announcement on the troop withdrawal from Germany, and in response to a question about reducing U.S. troops in Spain and Italy, Trump responded, «I mean, they haven’t been exactly on board.  Yeah, probably. Yeah, I probably will… Italy has not been of any help to us. And Spain has been horrible. Absolutely horrible.»

Spain’s socialist Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez has taken a belligerent stand against the U.S. and Israeli military campaign against the Iranian regime, forbidding the U.S. from using its military bases in Spain to refuel aircraft or prepare for military action. He has decried the campaign as illegal while staying quiet on the regime’s murder of thousands of protesters and its increased drive to produce ballistic missiles and acquire nuclear weapons-grade enriched uranium.

Gardiner said, «The Spanish have been the worst by a long way. At least the Germans and Italy have allowed the use of its own bases. The Spanish have refused to cooperate in any way with the war.»

Trump told the Italian daily Corriere della Sera last month about the country’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni that «I’m shocked at her. I thought she had courage, but I was wrong.»

The Europe expert, Gardiner, sees a wide gulf between how mainly Western European countries and the United States view the preservation of Western civilization, freedom, democracy and liberty.

French President Emmanuel Macron listens to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni during a working session with world leaders at the G7 summit in Borgo Egnazia, Italy, on June 13, 2024. (Andrew Medichini/AP)

«Europe has lost both its ability and its will to fight. The United States is clearly willing to fight to defend Western civilization and the free world. Much of Europe has given up on this, especially Western Europe. It is an appeasement mindset cojoined with weakness and pacifism and also a growing acceptance by European leaders of mass migration and Islamification.»

He added, «Europe has fundamentally changed over the last twenty years beyond recognition, and yet Europe’s ruling elites accept it seemingly as a fact, with some notable exceptions.»

France and the UK

Trump took the United Kingdom and France in March to task for their postioning on the war against Iran.

«The Country of France wouldn’t let planes headed to Israel, loaded up with military supplies, fly over French territory,» Trump wrote on Truth Social.

«France has been VERY UNHELPFUL with respect to the ‘Butcher of Iran,’ who has been successfully eliminated! The U.S.A. will REMEMBER!!!,» he wrote.

France’s President Emmanuel Macron welcomes Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the Elysee Presidential Palace in Paris on Feb. 17, 2025, before an informal summit of European leaders to discuss the situation in Ukraine and European security. (Photo by LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP via Getty Images)

Trump also wrote, «All of those countries that can’t get jet fuel because of the Strait of Hormuz, like the United Kingdom, which refused to get involved in the decapitation of Iran, I have a suggestion for you.»

«Number 1, buy from the U.S., we have plenty, and Number 2, build up some delayed courage, go to the Strait, and just TAKE IT.»

«You’ll have to start learning how to fight for yourself, the U.S.A. won’t be there to help you anymore, just like you weren’t there for us. Iran has been, essentially, decimated. The hard part is done. Go get your own oil!»

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Gardiner said the crisis over the Iran war shows that Europe has surrendered. The big Western Europeans have embraced «defeatism,» and «they do not care. It is as simple as that. And future generations will have to pay the price for the course Europe is taking now,» he said.

Fox News’ Brittany Miller and Solly Boussidan contributed to this report.

El Juzgado Segundo de Instrucción de San Salvador ordenó la apertura a juicio contra Kevin Stanley Cubias Cubias, acusado de usar documentos falsos y un sello notarial sin autorización. Según la información oficial difundida por Centros Judiciales El Salvador, a Cubias se le habrían encontrado varios documentos con firmas y sellos que una notaria no reconoció como propios.

La acusación detalla que, desde abril de 2023, Cubias habría presentado en instituciones municipales documentos que le permitían realizar gestiones a nombre de terceros. Dichos documentos incluían la firma y sello de autenticación de una notaria, quien desconoció haberlos emitido. La profesional, al notar el uso indebido de su firma y sello, notificó a la Fiscalía General de la República. Durante la investigación, las autoridades incautaron más documentos y sellos presuntamente falsificados, así como billetes de lotería y otros papeles oficiales.

El juzgado, tras analizar la prueba presentada, determinó que existen suficientes elementos para que el caso sea debatido en una vista pública, por lo que ratificó la medida de detención provisional para el acusado mientras se desarrolla el proceso judicial.

Cubias enfrentará cargos por uso y tenencia de documentos falsos en modalidad continuada, falsificación, tenencia de sellos oficiales, especies fiscales y billetes de lotería. El Código Penal salvadoreño establece que el uso y tenencia de documentos falsos constituye delito cuando la persona, con conocimiento de la falsedad y sin haber participado en la falsificación, utiliza o porta documentos alterados o falsificados. El artículo 287 del Código Penal sanciona esta conducta con penas que pueden ir de uno a tres años de prisión. La reiteración de la conducta puede incrementar la pena.

En el caso de la falsificación de sellos oficiales, el artículo 289-A del Código Penal establece penas de uno a tres años de prisión para quien falsificare marcas, contraseñas o firmas oficialmente usadas para certificar documentos o identificar objetos. Si la conducta es reiterada o se realiza con publicidad, la sanción puede incrementarse.

La falsificación o uso de documentos que afectan la fe pública, como escrituras, autorizaciones notariales o billetes oficiales, también se sanciona con prisión. El Código Penal considera agravantes si el delito se comete reiteradamente o afecta bienes públicos.

El delito de uso y tenencia de documentos falsos, junto con la falsificación de documentos, ha sido recurrente en El Salvador. Según datos de la Fiscalía General de la República y reportes de organismos internacionales, el país ha registrado un incremento en delitos relacionados con fraude y falsedad documental. Para 2022, se reportaron más de 6,300 casos de fraude, cifra que incluye diversas formas de falsificación y uso de documentos fraudulentos.

El Global Organized Crime Index señala que la falsificación de documentos, junto con otros delitos financieros, persiste como un problema en El Salvador, aunque en los últimos años, la mayor atención se ha centrado en delitos como la extorsión y el narcotráfico. Los controles estatales y el endurecimiento de las penas han llevado a la desarticulación de redes dedicadas a la falsificación, pero las autoridades reconocen que los casos individuales y las modalidades continuadas siguen presentes.

El uso de documentos y sellos oficiales falsos también se ha detectado en el contexto de trámites municipales y gestiones administrativas, donde la verificación notarial es fundamental para evitar fraudes. Las penas buscan tanto sancionar la conducta como proteger la confianza en los documentos públicos, considerada esencial para la seguridad jurídica y la fe pública.

En suma, el caso de Kevin Stanley Cubias Cubias refleja la persistencia de delitos de falsedad documental en El Salvador y la respuesta judicial ante estas infracciones, que afectan tanto a instituciones como a particulares.

Legal experts are pushing back on skepticism surrounding the indictment of former FBI Director James Comey, arguing the Department of Justice would not have brought the case without meeting key legal thresholds.

«Lots of folks are saying the case is going nowhere, but, way too early to reach that conclusion,» former Democratic U.S. Attorney John Fishwick, who served in Virginia during the Obama administration, said, cautioning against prematurely dismissing the case.

The indictment, brought last month in the Eastern District of North Carolina, alleged Comey, a longtime Trump nemesis, threatened the president and delivered interstate communications containing threats when he posted a photo on Instagram of seashells reading «8647» last year. 

Free speech advocates and leftist critics pushed back against the indictment, accusing the DOJ of infringing on protected speech in the name of prosecuting one of Trump’s top political rivals. Comey, whom Trump fired as FBI director in 2017, has been outspoken against the president and profited off sales from his anti-Trump book, while Trump has said Comey is «guilty as hell» on social media and that he should face criminal charges.

BLANCHE TURNS THE TABLES ON COMEY INDICTMENT CRITICS: ‘REST ASSURED’ CASE GOES BEYOND INSTAGRAM POST

«Comey is out for revenge against Trump and has publicly gone after Trump separately from the seashells,» Fishwick said, adding that Trump also publicly said he perceived the message as a threat.

Prosecutors must prove Comey’s intent and that the message constituted a «true threat,» a high legal bar that has fueled questions about whether the case can succeed, especially in the recent threat environment where Trump has now faced three alleged assassination attempts.

«You prove intent like you always prove intent,» acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said on «Meet the Press» this weekend. «You prove intent with witnesses. You prove intent with documents, with materials. … This is not just about a single Instagram post. This is about a body of evidence that the grand jury collected over the series of about 11 months.»

Chad Mizelle, former DOJ chief of staff, told Fox News Digital the legal standard for convicting Comey for threatening the president was high but that the indictment suggested there was underlying evidence.

«I don’t think the department would have secured the indictment without concrete evidence that Comey did knowingly and willfully threaten the president of the United States,» Mizelle said.

Mizelle noted evidence could take many forms, such as nonpublic text messages or emails.

«What was Comey’s intent when he said it?» Mizelle asked. «I suspect DOJ has evidence of that, and I’ll wager it’s not favorable to Comey.»

IN TRYING TO SECURE COMEY INDICTMENT, US PROSECUTORS HAVE SHORT WINDOW — AND A DIFFICULT CASE TO MAKE

Todd Blanche, President Donald Trump’s nominee for deputy attorney general, testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 12, 2024, facing questions about Justice Department independence and Capitol riot investigations. (Daniel Heuer/Bloomberg)

The term «86» has been used as slang to get rid of someone or something, often in restaurants for an unavailable item or refused customer. Prosecutors alleged that, paired with «47» — a reference to Donald Trump as the 47th president — Comey’s post amounted to a threat.

Before serving as head of the FBI, Comey was a federal prosecutor and deputy attorney general for the Department of Justice. 

Comey, «more than any American, knows not to make threats and what a threat looks like,» Fishwick said.

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., told Fox News: «This is a very smart guy. He knows what he’s doing. He’s nobody’s fool. … He knew exactly what he was doing, but hey he’s going to have his day in court.»

The DOJ secured the indictment from a grand jury days after a third alleged assassination attempt on Trump at the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, a point Blanche has drilled down on as evidence that prosecuting threats to the president, regardless of who made them, is a top priority. Fishwick said the political violence would be relevant if the case makes it to trial.

«As background to any trial, jurors in North Carolina will be aware of all the political threats in this country and know that something must be done about it,» Fishwick said.

George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley raised First Amendment concerns, saying if the case rested solely on the image of seashells forming «8647,» it could face significant legal hurdles, arguing the image «is clearly protected speech» absent additional evidence.

James Comey posted a photo on Instagram showing him standing on a beach. (Fox News)

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression said «86» could actually mean impeachment and that the charges defied Supreme Court precedent that established the standard for a «true threat.»

«The idea that Comey’s picture of seashells conveyed a serious intent to harm the president is ridiculous,» the group wrote on social media. «The administration should abandon this transparent and unconstitutional attempt to punish a critic.»

FBI DEPUTY DIRECTOR DAN BONGINO: JAMES COMEY ‘BROUGHT SHAME TO THE FBI AGAIN’ WITH ’86 47′ POST

Comey had quickly deleted the post, saying at the time that he did not realize that he had shared something ominous. After the indictment, he said he was «still innocent.»

«I’m still not afraid, and I still believe in the independent federal judiciary, so let’s go,» Comey said.

Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton accused «the left media [of] rushing to the defense of James Comey, pretending it’s about free speech.»

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«You don’t have the right to advocate for the killing of the president,» Fitton said.

Comey’s arraignment is set for May 11 in Greenville. Comey’s lawyer did not comment for this story.