NATO may act together against Iran under Article 5 - Rutte
NATO (Photo: Getty Images)
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte told Newsmax that there is broad support among alliance members for President Donald Trump’s campaign targeting Iran’s nuclear and missile capabilities, according to NEWSMAX.
Support without formal participation
According to Rutte, NATO is not directly involved in the operation.
"NATO is not involved,” he stressed on The Record With Greta Van Susteren.
At the same time, he added: “But obviously allies are basically, on a massive scale, supportive of what the president is doing and are also enabling what the U.S. is doing now in the region, taking out this nuclear capability of Iran and, of course, the missile capability.”
He said that European states share concerns about Tehran’s actions, including threats and assassination attempts linked to the Iranian regime.
Mark Rutte said: “Here in Europe, we know the impact of Iran and the negative impact they can have,” mentioning risks for the Iranian diaspora and threats directed at the Netherlands.
NATO security guarantees
Commenting on the situation, Secretary General Mark Rutte assured that the alliance protects its territory.
“We make sure that we can defend and will defend every inch of territory of NATO,” he said.
As an example, he cited an incident involving a missile threat toward Türkiye that was neutralized by the alliance’s missile defense systems.
Rutte also spoke about Article 5 of the NATO treaty, noting that its activation is intentionally kept somewhat undefined.
“For good reasons, we always will stay very ambiguous about when Article 5 is triggered,” he said, stressing that if the mechanism is activated, allies will be notified immediately.
Regional partner contacts
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said he maintains constant contact with partners in the Middle East, including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait. He said NATO is ready to help ensure their security amid ongoing attacks in the region.
Israeli intelligence reportedly received information about possible contacts between the US and Iran regarding a ceasefire. After these signals emerged, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly asked the White House to clarify the situation. According to reports, Israel fears a scenario in which Washington could agree to a truce before all military objectives set by Israel are achieved.
The US Senate is preparing a preliminary vote aimed at limiting President Donald Trump’s authority to carry out new strikes against Iran.
