NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte noted that alliance member countries support the US operation against Iran, but the details of applying Article 5 of the collective defense will remain under a very tightly guarded veil. He said these words on March 4 during an interview with Newsmax.
For good reason we will always remain deliberately vague about when Article 5 of the treaty triggers, which states that an attack on one member is considered an attack on all… We keep this ambiguity because we do not want our enemies, our adversaries, to learn more about it… We can and will defend every inch of NATO territory
– Newsmax
The Secretary General clarified: in the event of the invocation of Article 5, the alliance will immediately outline its steps, but for now there remains a degree of ambiguity to deter adversaries from taking risky actions against NATO’s security.
Rutte emphasized that NATO formally is not participating in the operation against Iran, but inside the alliance there is “wide support” for the U.S. president’s campaign to destroy Iran’s nuclear and missile capabilities, even despite criticism from some European leaders.
NATO is not participating. But clearly, allies, in essence, are broadly supporting what the president is doing, and also contributing to what the United States is currently doing in the region by destroying Iran’s nuclear potential and, of course, the missile potential
– NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte
NATO and Partners’ Reaction
NATO member states emphasize their support for partners in the Middle East and their readiness to strengthen their security amid the tense situation.
“I am in constant contact with them because we want to ensure that we can help with everything needed for their security,” said Rutte.
I stay in constant contact with them because we want to ensure that we can help them with everything we can to keep them safe
– NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte
Timeline of events and world leaders’ reactions
According to official data, the United States and Israel launched a military operation against Iran on February 28. In response, Tehran carried out strikes against Israel and American bases in the Persian Gulf. In addition to military targets, civilian facilities in various countries also came under fire.
On the same day, the leaders of Germany, France and the United Kingdom – Friedrich Merz, Emmanuel Macron and Keir Starmer – assured that they did not participate in strikes against Iran. At the same time, they emphasized close cooperation with international partners, the United States and Israel, and called for resuming negotiations through diplomacy to seek ways to resolve the crisis.