INTERNACIONAL
Trump’s NATO Turnaround: From threatening to pull US out to ‘daddy’ of the alliance
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President Donald Trump delivered a resounding endorsement of NATO this week, marking a sharp turnaround in his years-long, often contentious relationship with the alliance.
Once known for blasting allies over defense spending and even threatening to pull out of NATO altogether, Trump now appears to have had a change of heart.
«I left here differently. I left here saying that these people really love their countries,» Trump said after the 2025 NATO summit in The Hague.
The pivot comes as NATO nations more than doubled their collective defense spending target – raising the bar from 2% to 5% of GDP.
WORLD LEADERS FLOCK TO MEET WITH TRUMP AT NATO SUMMIT
NATO leaders pose for a photo at the 2025 summit. (Reuters/Claudia Greco)
From Hostile Rhetoric to Royal Receptions
The president’s renewed embrace of the alliance follows years of friction, high-profile clashes with world leaders and controversial comments. Yet at this year’s summit, the tone was strikingly different.
Trump was welcomed by Dutch royals, praised by the NATO secretary-general – who even referred to him as «daddy» – and returned home lauding European allies for their patriotism. «It’s not a rip-off, and we’re here to help them,» Trump told reporters.
The transformation is as dramatic as it is unexpected.
The Iran Factor: Military Action with Global Impact
Trump arrived at the NATO summit on a high note, following U.S. strikes that crippled Iran’s nuclear infrastructure. According to American and allied intelligence sources, the operation set back Tehran’s nuclear ambitions by several years.
The strike was widely seen as both a show of strength and a strategic warning – not just to Iran but to NATO adversaries like Russia and China.
WORLD LEADERS FLOCK TO MEET WITH TRUMP AT NATO SUMMIT
«He really came in from this power move,» said Giedrimas Jeglinskas, a former NATO official and current chairman of Lithuania’s national security committee.
«Among some, definitely Eastern Europe, Central Europe, Nordic Europe, this attack, the use of those really sophisticated weapons and bombers, was the rebuilding of the deterrence narrative of the West, not just of America.»
Trump was welcomed by Dutch royals, praised by the NATO secretary-general – who even referred to him as «daddy» – and returned home lauding European allies for their patriotism. «It’s not a rip-off, and we’re here to help them,» Trump told reporters. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
Timeline: Trump’s Rocky Road with NATO
2016 Campaign Trail
Trump repeatedly called NATO «obsolete,» questioning its relevance and slamming allies for failing to pay their «fair share.»
«It’s costing us too much money… We’re paying disproportionately. It’s too much,» he said in March 2016.
He criticized NATO for lacking focus on terrorism, later taking credit when it created a chief intelligence post.
February 2017 – Early Presidency
Trump softened his tone after becoming president.
«We strongly support NATO,» he said after visiting Central Command. «We only ask that all members make their full and proper financial contribution.»
He continued to push for members to meet the 2% target by 2024.
2018 Brussels Summit
Trump privately threatened to pull the U.S. from NATO unless allies increased spending.
«Now we are in World War III protecting a country that wasn’t paying its bills,» he warned.
Despite the posturing, he called NATO a «fine-tuned machine» after extracting new spending commitments. He also accused Germany of being a «captive of Russia» over the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.
TRUMP HEADS TO NATO SUMMIT AS EUROPE AGREES TO HEED HIS DEFENSE SPENDING DEMANDS
President Donald Trump, pictured with Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer, delivered a resounding endorsement of NATO this week, marking a sharp turnaround in his years-long, often contentious relationship with the alliance. (AP Photo Kin Cheung, Poo)
2019 London Summit
The drama continued, this time with French President Emmanuel Macron calling NATO «brain-dead.»
«NATO serves a great purpose. I think that’s very insulting,» Trump responded.
He also clashed with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau – calling him «two-faced» after Trudeau was caught mocking Trump on camera.
2020 – Troop Withdrawal from Germany
Trump ordered 12,000 U.S. troops out of Germany, citing Berlin’s defense shortfalls.
February 2024 – Russia Controversy
Trump ignited backlash after suggesting he’d let Russia «do whatever the hell they want» to NATO countries that failed to meet spending obligations.
The remark sparked urgent contingency talks among European leaders about the future of the alliance if the U.S. did not step up to its defense.
June 2025: A Different Trump, a Different NATO
The 2025 summit in The Hague unfolded with surprising calm. Trump’s hosts rolled out the red carpet. «He’s the man of the hour and the most important man in the world,» Jeglinskas said.
Jeglinskas credited Trump’s blunt diplomacy – however unorthodox – for helping drive real reform «He’s brought in tectonic change to the alliance’s capabilities by… being himself,» he added. «It’s a gift for the alliance.»
Trump is greeted by King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands and Queen Maxima at Paleis Huis ten Bosch at the NATO summit. (Brendan Smialowski – Pool/Getty Images)
Two Forces Behind NATO’s Revival: Russia and Trump
Experts agree NATO’s recent revitalization stems from two major catalysts: Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine and Trump’s relentless pressure on allies to boost defense.
«President Trump is riding high this week with two major foreign policy victories,» said Matthew Kroenig, vice president at the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center, referencing NATO and the recent U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear program. «It’s terrific. I hope he can keep it up.»
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He added, «Every president since Eisenhower has complained that NATO allies aren’t doing their fair share.»
Now, Trump was the one who finally got them to listen, he said.
INTERNACIONAL
‘Siberian Jesus’ sentenced to Russian prison after harming followers in bizarre cult
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A Siberian cult leader who claims to be the reincarnation of Jesus Christ was sentenced to 12 years in a Russian prison camp after his conviction for physically and financially harming his followers.
Sergei Torop, a former traffic policeman known to his followers as «Vissarion,» meaning «he who gives new life,» and two aides used psychological pressure to extract money from his followers and cause serious harm to their mental and physical health, Reuters reported.
Torop, 64, set up the Church of the Last Testament in a remote part of Siberia’s Krasnoyarsk region in 1991, the year the Soviet Union broke up.
NOTORIOUS IRANIAN PRISON BOSS FLEES MINUTES BEFORE ISRAELI AIRSTRIKES AFTER SECRET WARNING
Vissarion, who has proclaimed himself a new Christ, conducts a service during the Holiday of Good Fruit feast in the village of Obitel Rassveta, southeast of Russia’s Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk. (Reuters/Ilya Naymushin)
He was one of three men convicted Monday in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk. Torop and Vladimir Vedernikov were sentenced to 12 years, and Vadim Redkin was sentenced to 11 years in a maximum-security prison camp.
All three men were arrested in 2020 in a helicopter raid that involved the FSB security service, the successor agency to the Soviet KGB.
BELARUSIAN DISSIDENT THANKS TRUMP ADMIN FOR HIS FREEDOM, DEMANDS THE UN ACT
Members of the religious sect led by Vissarion, who has proclaimed himself a new Christ, take part in a procession on the eve of the Holiday of Good Fruit celebration in the Russian village of Petropavlovka. (Reuters/Ilya Naymushin )
A bearded self-styled mystic with long hair, Torop claimed to have been «reborn» to convey the word of God. He attracted thousands of followers, some of whom flocked to live in a settlement known as the «Abode of Dawn» or «Sun City» at a time when Russia was battling poverty and lawlessness, according to Reuters.
He told his followers not to eat meat, smoke, drink alcohol or swear and to stop using money.
Investigators said the men brought «moral harm» to 16 people, damage to the physical health of six people and moderate damage to another person’s health.
Members of the religious sect of Vissarion, who has proclaimed himself a new Christ, take part in the Holiday of Good Fruit feast in Siberia. (Reuters/Ilya Naymushin )
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Vedernikov had also been accused of committing fraud, the RIA state news agency reported.
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INTERNACIONAL
Causa AMIA: Irán criticó a la Justicia argentina por avanzar con un juicio en ausencia y acusó a Milei por sus vínculos con Israel y EEUU
El gobierno de Irán repudió la decisión de la Justicia argentina de avanzar con un juicio en ausencia contra diez ciudadanos iraníes y libaneses acusados de haber planificado el atentado terrorista contra la AMIA en 1994, y calificó la medida como una “acción ilegal, politizada y contraria al derecho internacional”.
En un duro comunicado, señaló que Javier Milei está alineado con Israel y Estados Unidos en una “conspiración” para proteger a “funcionarios argentinos corruptos” que serían —según su visión— los verdaderos responsables del ataque.
Leé también: Milei se reúne con sus ministros para analizar el fallo de la justicia de EEUU por la expropiación de YPF
La declaración fue emitida por Issa Kameli, director general para América del Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de Irán y asistente del canciller. El funcionario exigió una “explicación oficial” por parte del gobierno argentino ante lo que consideró una “insistencia en acusaciones infundadas” y denunció que detrás del fallo del juez federal Daniel Rafecas se esconde una “maniobra hostil” destinada a deteriorar las relaciones bilaterales.
La respuesta iraní se produjo días después de que Rafecas resolviera que se juzgue en ausencia a los diez acusados —entre ellos exfuncionarios del régimen iraní y miembros de Hezbollah—, todos prófugos de la Justicia argentina desde hace casi dos décadas, bajo la nueva figura incorporada este año al Código Procesal Penal.
Leé también: Israel y Siria avanzan en conversaciones para cerrar un acuerdo histórico de seguridad
La medida, impulsada por la Unidad Fiscal AMIA, habilita por primera vez en la historia del país la realización de un juicio oral sin la presencia física de los imputados, en casos de terrorismo, crímenes de lesa humanidad u otros delitos graves.
“Las amplias desviaciones en el caso conocido como AMIA, incluyendo el encubrimiento sistemático de los hechos, la destrucción de pruebas, la negativa a implementar el memorando de entendimiento entre Irán y Argentina y el rechazo a cooperar judicialmente demuestran que este juicio es parte de un diseño político hostil influenciado por círculos sionistas”, señaló Kameli.
Javier Milei se abraza con el primer ministro israelí, Benjamin Netanyahu. (Foto: Reuters)
En el mismo sentido, criticó el fracaso de las autoridades argentinas para identificar a los autores “reales” del atentado, que dejó 85 muertos y más de 150 heridos.
Irán también acusó al gobierno de Milei de estar “comprometido con el régimen sionista genocida” y con Estados Unidos y aseguró que el juicio es parte de una estrategia para encubrir los crímenes de “exfuncionarios argentinos corruptos”. “Esta vil acción ocurre tras el fracaso del régimen sionista en su agresión militar contra la República Islámica de Irán y evidencia la alianza y complicidad del actual gobierno argentino con Israel”, insistió Kameli.
Leé también: Podrán volver a sus casas los habitantes de siete kibutz israelíes desalojados tras el brutal ataque de Hamas
En otro tramo del comunicado, el funcionario expresó su agradecimiento a los gobiernos de Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua, Brasil, Bolivia, Chile y Colombia por haber repudiado la reciente ofensiva militar contra Irán, y consideró que la postura de Argentina y Paraguay —a quienes acusó de respaldar los ataques de Estados Unidos e Israel— es “vergonzosa” y “repugnante”.
“Apoyar a un régimen ocupante y racista, que solo en los últimos dos años ha masacrado a casi 60.000 palestinos inocentes, no traerá ningún prestigio a sus defensores”, declaró el director general para América de la Cancillería iraní, al tiempo que afirmó que su país se reserva el derecho de adoptar “medidas firmes” para proteger a sus ciudadanos.
Leé también: La dura respuesta de Estados Unidos a Irán por las amenazas contra el argentino Rafael Grossi
La reacción iraní se produce en el marco de una causa judicial que acumula más de tres décadas de demoras, encubrimientos y fracasos, y que recientemente derivó en una condena internacional contra el Estado argentino por su deficiente investigación.
El juicio en ausencia —aún apelable— apunta contra diez acusados que tienen pedido de captura internacional desde 2006 pero nunca fueron detenidos, en su mayoría por residir en Irán, que se niega a extraditarlos. Entre ellos se encuentran el exministro de Inteligencia Alí Fallahijan, el excanciller Alí Akbar Velayati y el exjefe de la fuerza Al Quds Ahmad Vahidi, todos señalados como piezas clave en la planificación del ataque.
Irán, AMIA, Atentado a la AMIA
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