NATO chief Mark Rutte held closed-door talks with US President Donald Trump amid tensions over the Iran war and Strait of Hormuz blockade. Trump threatened to exit NATO over lack of allied support, even as a fragile US-Iran ceasefire aims to reopen the vital oil route and stabilise global markets.

Washington: NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte met behind closed doors with US President Donald Trump on Wednesday for discussions that were expected to focus on reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping waterway – and on soothing Trump's anger with the military alliance over the Iran war.

It wasn't immediately clear how things went in the private meeting, ahead of which Trump had suggested the US may consider leaving the trans-Atlantic alliance after NATO member countries ignored his call to help as Iran effectively shut the strait and sent gas prices soaring.

The Republican president has had a warm relationship with Rutte in the past, and the meeting came after the US and Iran late Tuesday agreed to a two-week ceasefire that includes the reopening of the strait.

The nascent ceasefire was struck after Trump said he would strike Iran's power plants and bridges, threatening that “a whole civilization will die tonight”.