NATO Chief Says Most European Allies Met Commitments, Backs Trump’s War on Iran

Echoes support for Trump’s war and cites North Korea

“Once a country gets nuclear weapons, negotiations are no longer possible”

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said he understands President Donald Trump’s frustration with alliance members, but said most European countries have honored earlier commitments during the war with Iran.

Rutte made the remarks in an interview with CNN on July 8, after being asked about Trump’s repeated complaints that NATO members had been “put to the test and failed.” He said that description applied to some allies, while defending the broader record of European countries.

He later met Trump privately at the White House in a bid to ease the president’s anger toward some NATO members. Trump has voiced growing frustration after certain allies refused to let US or Israeli aircraft involved in the war with Iran cross their airspace and turned down requests to send warships to the Strait of Hormuz after Iran blocked it.

Rutte said he had a “frank and open conversation” with Trump, who expressed disappointment with NATO. Still, he said he was able to show the president that most European countries had provided support through bases, supplies, airspace access and fulfillment of prior commitments.

He also said NATO members support Trump’s war on Iran. NATO has long maintained that it is crucial to weaken Iran’s nuclear and ballistic-missile capabilities and prevent Tehran from ever acquiring either, he said, adding that support for that position is widespread.

Asked whether he felt uncomfortable as a diplomat when Trump threatened to destroy Iran’s civilization, Rutte said he backs the president on the need to strip Iran of its ability to export chaos to the Middle East, Europe and the wider world. He added that most of Europe shares that view.

Rutte also cited North Korea. He said Iran has been one of the key factors enabling Russia’s war in Ukraine and that an Iranian nuclear capability would pose an existential threat to Israel.

“Trying to remove that through negotiations is excellent,” Rutte said. “But we always knew that in North Korea’s case as well.” Negotiations took too long, he added, and once North Korea obtained nuclear weapons, further talks were no longer possible because it had secured that power.

Asked whether he was concerned that the war would deepen ties between Iran and China, Rutte said those relationships already existed. Citing the war in Ukraine, he said Russia is cooperating with North Korea, Belarus, China and Iran. The Indo-Pacific, the Middle East, Europe and North America are becoming increasingly interconnected, he added.

Park Su-bin, Hankyung.com reporter waterbean@hankyung.com