The journalist asked Rutte whether NATO shared Israel's view that Tehran has intercontinental ballistic missiles that could strike Berlin, Paris or Rome. On March 21, The Wall Street Journal, citing sources, reported that Iran attacked the US-British Diego Garcia base in the Indian Ocean with two medium-range ballistic missiles.
The Secretary General said that NATO is currently studying this issue and therefore cannot confirm the information.
“If this is true, it is further evidence that what the president is doing [США Дональд Трамп]“Depriving Iran of its ability to possess ballistic missiles and nuclear capabilities is critical,” Rutte said.
According to him, Iran's nuclear potential, combined with its missile arsenal, would pose a direct threat to Israel, the entire region, Europe and stability throughout the world.
“So the president's actions are critical, and I've seen the polls, but I really hope the American people will support him because he's doing this to make the whole world a safer place,” he added.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Trump promised NATO a “very bad future” if the allies do not help the United States unblock the Strait of Hormuz. Commenting on this, Rutte noted that this issue is now being studied.
According to him, we are talking about 22 countries, most of which are NATO members, as well as Japan, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Bahrain, and the UAE.
“The US spent weeks preparing Operation Epic Fury, and for security reasons they could not share what they were doing with their European allies and allies around the world and partner countries because that would have jeopardized the impact of the first attack… So it makes sense that European countries took several weeks to get their act together,” he added.
Context
On the morning of February 28, Israel and the United States announced a military operation in Iran. Trump has stated his intention to protect the American people by eliminating threats from the Iranian regime. Same day liquidated Supreme Leader of Iran Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and more than 40 other country officials.
In early March, Trump said that operation in Iran may take four weeks. Politico wrote that military action could last until September.
Tehran responded with strikes, including on countries in the Middle East where there are American military facilities. In particular, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia were hit by Iranian ballistic missiles and Shahed drones, which the Russian Federation regularly attacks Ukraine with. Tehran's attacks in the Middle East have killed dozens of people.
Trump said on March 15 that militarily, the United States had “virtually defeated Iran.” According to him, the United States has destroyed the country's ability to produce missiles. Therefore, now Iran, according to him, has few of them left.
On March 20, the US President announced the possibility of curtailing a large-scale military operation in the Middle East, and the next day he threatened to destroy Iranian power plants if Tehran did not unblock the Strait of Hormuz.
On March 22, The Times, citing diplomatic and intelligence sources, reported that Iran's strike on the Diego Garcia base was a warning signal to Europe.
