Czech president: No attack on US means no NATO war with Iran
Petr Pavel (Photo: president.gov.ua)
Czech President Petr Pavel stated that NATO should not take part in the war against Iran, as no one has attacked the US, and the Alliance was created as a defensive union, according to České noviny.
Pavel explained that NATO's main goal is the collective defense of member states' territory. He emphasized that there are currently no grounds for involving the Alliance in the war, as the United States has not been attacked, and Iran is not a member of the bloc.
"The US has not been attacked, and Iran is not a member of the alliance, so the demand for NATO's participation in the Middle East conflict does not correspond to why and on what principles NATO was founded," the Czech president noted.
At the same time, he emphasized that if any state were to leave the Alliance, the other members would have to find ways to preserve the principle of collective defense.
Pavel stressed that the Alliance's functioning without one of its key participants, the US, would require significant effort from the remaining allies.
"I am convinced that NATO makes sense not only for European states but also for Canada and the US. If any member were to withdraw, its activities could continue, but this would require considerable effort from all," he noted.
Relations between the US and other NATO countries
According to The Telegraph, US President Donald Trump is considering a radical reorganization of NATO based on a pay-to-play model to take revenge on the alliance.
One idea envisions that countries spending less than 5% of their GDP on common defense would be unable to vote on joint missions, bloc enlargement, or budget expenditures. Additionally, such allies could be left without US protection in the event of an attack.
Furthermore, Trump emphasized that NATO failed the test because members of the Alliance were unwilling to participate in the US operation against Iran.
He also recalled his own words from 25 years ago, when he stated that NATO was a paper tiger.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio questioned NATO's value to Washington after European allies blocked their bases and airspace for strikes against Iran. Following this, Donald Trump also stated that he is seriously considering withdrawing the US from NATO.
