Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made wild claims about NATO allies allegedly putting U.S. troops in danger during the war with Iran because they wouldn’t cooperate when called upon by the U.S. for help.

Hegseth dressed down NATO members Thursday while speaking at the headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, repeating President Donald Trump’s claim that the organization is a “paper tiger” without the United States.

“These allies, they put America’s sons and daughters — our sons and daughters — at risk by denying them the predictable access, basing and overflight that never should have been in question at all,” Hegseth said.

“The United States has defended Europe for generations, and the president said, all he said was, that our jets would need to take off from bases in Europe or our ships from ports to strike targets in the Middle East, Iranian targets that threaten European interests even more directly than they threaten us,” Hegseth said. “But too many of our allies said ‘no,’ or tried to drown us in arcane legal debates, or criticized us publicly for doing what they aren’t prepared or able to do themselves. It was shameful.”

Hegseth promised that the Pentagon would carry out a six-month “review of forces in Europe,” and may decide to make cuts to the U.S. budget unless the Europeans increase their military spending.

“This will be a real review. It will be designed to ensure that NATO is moving fast and irreversibly toward Europe leading, stepping up, to take primary responsibility for the defense of Europe.”

Trump has long bashed NATO for allegedly not pulling their weight in Europe, and has threatened to do away with U.S. involvement altogether.

Hegseth added, “As President Trump put it, and rightfully so, he gave our allies a test: to support America when we asked for their help, and too many failed it.”

The Pentagon identified seven U.S. service members killed in action during the three-month conflict with Iran. One soldier died as a result of wounds sustained. An additional six soldiers were killed in accidents, while 413 Army, Navy, Marines, and Air Force personnel were wounded in action.

Watch the clip above via the Pentagon on YouTube.

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