NATO chief Mark Rutte has welcomed President Donald Trump's announcement that 5,000 US troops will head to Poland, after an earlier planned deployment was called off amid pressure for Europe to fend for itself.
"Of course, I welcome the announcement," the secretary general told reporters ahead of a meeting of alliance foreign ministers in Sweden, adding that NATO "military commanders are working through all the details".
President Trump surprised NATO allies by pledging to send the troops, only hours before Secretary of State Marco Rubio was to meet alliance ministers in Sweden amid deep divisions over the Iran war.
Mr Trump, in a Truth Social post, cited his relationship with Poland's conservative nationalist President Karol Nawrocki as the reason behind his decision to send additional troops.
"Based on the successful election of the now President of Poland, Karol Nawrocki, who I was proud to endorse, and our relationship with him, I am pleased to announce that the United States will be sending an additional 5,000 troops to Poland," President Trump said in the post.
It was a surprising turnabout after weeks in which Trump fiercely criticised NATO members for not doing more to help the US-Israeli military campaign.
He has said he is considering withdrawing from the alliance and questioned whether the US was bound to honour its mutual defence pact.
Before leaving for a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in the Swedish town of Helsingborg, Mr Rubio said Mr Trump was "very disappointed" in alliance members who had not allowed the US to use bases on their territory for the war, singling out Spain in particular.
"You have countries like Spain denying US the use of these bases - well then why are you in NATO?
"That's a very fair question," Mr Rubio told reporters in Miami.
"In fairness, other countries in NATO have been very helpful. But we need to discuss that," he added.
NATO officials have stressed the US did not ask the 32-member alliance to take part in the Iran war, but many members have honoured commitments to allow US forces to use their airspace and bases on their territory.
European concerns about President Trump's attitude toward NATO were also exacerbated this year by his push to acquire Greenland, a territory of fellow NATO member Denmark.
At the gathering in Helsingborg, European ministers are expected to try to placate the US by stressing they are ready to help with freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz when conditions permit and to take more responsibility for European security.
Iran has restricted traffic through the strait during the war.
European fears about Mr Trump's commitment to NATO have been heightened by the decision to withdraw 5,000 troops from Europe, issued before Thursday's pledge to send additional troops to Poland.
It was not immediately clear where the additional troops for Poland would come from.
Washington's allies have also been confused and unsettled by the way the decision was communicated.
US officials first said the troops would be withdrawn from Germany but later said they would delay the deployment of a brigade to Poland.
The United States has also said a planned deployment of long-range Tomahawk missiles to Germany will no longer go ahead. In addition, it plans to tell NATO allies it will shrink the pool of military capabilities the US makes available to the alliance in a crisis, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
NATO's top commander US Air Force General Alexus Grynkewich sought this week to reassure European allies about the recent decisions, saying further drawdowns would stretch over years to give allies time to develop capabilities to replace them.
US Navy official says Taiwan arms sales on 'pause' over Iran war
Meanwhile, the acting US Navy secretary said that arms sales to Taiwan had been put on "pause" to ensure that the American military had sufficient munitions for its Iran operations.
Asked at a congressional hearing about the stalled $14 billion weapons purchase by Taiwan, acting secretary Hung Cao said that "right now we're doing a pause in order to make sure we have the munitions we need for Epic Fury, which we have plenty".
"But, we're just making sure we have everything, then the foreign military sales will continue when the administration deems necessary," he added.
The US State Department and the Pentagon did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Mr Cao's remarks.
Taiwan's Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo said there was "no information indicating that the US intends to make any adjustments to this arms sale".
US President Donald Trump has not committed to following through with the sale, raising concerns over his commitment to support for Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory.
Ahead of his recent state visit to China, Mr Trump said he would speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping about the arms sales, a departure from Washington's previous insistence that it will not consult Beijing on the matter.
Afterwards, he said he had made no commitments to Xi about Taiwan and would be making a determination on the arms sales "over the next fairly short period of time."
The United States recognises only Beijing, but under US law is required to provide weapons to the self-ruled democracy for its defence.
China has sworn to take the island and has not ruled out using force, ramping up military pressure in recent years.
