“There were good reasons.” Rutte defends Trump again

NATO Secretary General says he understands that the President of the United States did not warn allies that he was going to attack Iran, to avoid information leaks.

“The United States did not consult the Allies because they wanted to keep the operation secret. And that was for good reasons, to ensure that no one knew what was going to happen that Saturday morning. When too many people are informed, there is always the risk of an information leak”, said Mark Rutte at a press conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels.

The Secretary General of NATO said that he has seen, on Donald Trump’s part, “some frustration” that the countries of the Atlantic Alliance have refused to participate in a military mission to guarantee circulation in the Strait of Hormuz, but he considered that this was due to not having been informed.

“The Europeans needed time because the United States, for good reasons, could not report on what was going to happen, because they had the possibility of eliminating Iran’s leadership and there was always the risk of a leak. I don’t criticize that, but it means that some time was needed for the Europeans to organize themselves,” he said.

However, continued Mark Rutte, the “good news” is that 30 countries have already made themselves available “to discuss how navigable sea lanes can be maintained”, in an allusion to a declaration, also signed by Portugal, in which 30 States said they were ready to “contribute to efforts aimed at ensuring safe passage” through the Strait of Hormuz.

“It was exactly what Trump asked for,” Rutte said.

The threat to Europe (which has already been attacked)

Regarding the US and Israeli attacks on Iran, the official said that NATO has always defended the idea that Tehran could not develop nuclear weapons or intercontinental missile capabilities, because this would constitute “a threat not only to the region, to Israel, but also to Europe”.

“And what the United States is doing is reducing that capacity. And I applaud that. In an alliance, of course there are always different points of view – that’s inevitable, it’s an alliance of democracies – but, When it comes to not accepting that Iran has nuclear or missile capabilities, we are all in agreement.”these.

Rutte also suggested that Iran already represents a threat to NATO member statesclaiming that he managed to attack the British military base on Diego Garcia island, around four thousand kilometers from its territory, which Tehran denied.

“This means they are increasingly dangerous to allies. Just do the math: [dispararam mísseis contra um alvo] four thousand kilometers. Therefore, it is clear that the allies all agree that Iran cannot have nuclear capabilities or missiles of this magnitude,” he said.

Asked about the consequences that the war in Iran is having on the supply of military material to Ukraine, Rutte assured that the equipment destined for Kiev “continues to be delivered”.

“I can assure you that critical US support for Ukraine, paid for by allies, remains ongoing, in addition to the information that the United States is sharing with Ukraine, which is crucial,” he highlighted.

This morning, in a message written on his Truth Social network, Donald Trump criticized NATO member states for “they didn’t do anything” to help the US in the war against Iran.

“NATO countries did nothing to help [os Estados Unidos] with the crazy, now decimated nation of Iran,” Trump wrote.

“The United States does not need anything from NATO, but ‘never forget’ this very important moment in history”, he added in the message in capital letters.