Secretary General: NATO may join war against Iran
NATO member states support the US operation against Iran, and in the event of a threat to the alliance, they may invoke Article Five on collective defense.
But they will not disclose how exactly, reported NATO secretary general Mark Rutte in an interview with Newsmax.
He noted that NATO countries are not participating in the operation, but are providing "key assistance" to the United States. They support military action against the Iranian regime because Europe is also experiencing the "negative influence" of Iran.
"Look at the assassination attempts in many NATO countries, in Europe, the Iranian diaspora. My own country [the Netherlands] is under constant threat from the regime in Tehran," Rutte said.
According to him, NATO forces remain ready to defend the alliance's territory. As an example, he cited an Iranian missile flying toward Turkish airspace that was successfully intercepted by NATO missile defense systems.
The Secretary General did not rule out the use of Article 5 on collective defense, but noted that there are always good reasons to maintain uncertainty about when it will be activated.
"We keep this uncertainty because we don't want our enemies, our adversaries, to know more about it... We can and will defend every inch of NATO territory," Rutte said.
Rutte is also in touch with the countries in the Middle East that are currently being attacked by Iran in response to the US and Israeli operation. NATO wants to make sure that it is doing everything it can to keep them safe.