Welcome back to World Brief, where we\u2019re looking at NATO chief Mark Rutte\u2019s comments about the Iran war, a covert British-Norwegian operation to deter Russian undersea attacks, and public opinion ahead of Hungary\u2019s parliamentary elections.<\/p>\n
\u2018They Were a Bit Surprised\u2019<\/p>\n
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte defended<\/a> allies\u2019 responses to the Iran war on Thursday, despite U.S. President Donald Trump continuing to criticize members\u2019 hesitancy to help U.S. forces reopen the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n \u201cAllies are doing everything the United States is asking,\u201d Rutte said, speaking at an event at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute in Washington. He added that \u201ceach country is now looking for what they can do to make sure the strait remains open.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump hosted Rutte at the White House on Wednesday, during which the two reportedly discussed the United States\u2019 myriad frustrations with NATO as well as Trump\u2019s threat to withdraw from the alliance<\/a> entirely. \u201cNATO WASN\u2019T THERE WHEN WE NEEDED THEM, AND THEY WON\u2019T BE THERE IF WE NEED THEM AGAIN,\u201d Trump wrote<\/a> on Truth Social after the meeting.<\/p>\n Although Rutte acknowledged on Thursday that some allies were \u201ca bit slow\u201d to provide logistical and other support for the U.S. war effort in Iran, he said that \u201c[i]n fairness, they were also a bit surprised\u201d that the United States decided to launch strikes on Iran in the first place.<\/p>\n Now, as Washington and Tehran enter day two of their cease-fire, reopening and safeguarding the Strait of Hormuz remain top concerns.<\/p>\n Only five vessels traveled<\/a> through the strategic waterway on Wednesday, according to shipping tracking firm Kpler. That is down from an average of around 10 vessels a day over the previous five days. On Thursday, ship traffic dipped below 10 percent<\/a> of normal volumes.<\/p>\n Experts argue that this is largely due to Iran\u2019s demand to oversee and coordinate<\/a> all passage through the strait. Tehran has forced some shipowners to pay tolls<\/a> to transit Hormuz, and Iran has mostly approved only those crossings that pass close to the country\u2019s coast rather than going through the main shipping lanes\u2014suggesting<\/a> that Iranian forces may have placed mines<\/a> along the main channels. Rising ship insurance costs<\/a> due to the war have also prevented vessels from making the voyage.<\/p>\n Tehran will move \u201cmanagement of the Strait of Hormuz to a new stage,\u201d Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei<\/a> said on Thursday, adding that the country will seek compensation for damages incurred in the war. This appears to contradict Trump\u2019s assertion<\/a> that the United States would work with Iran to manage traffic buildup in the strait. Meanwhile, analysts have found no signs of large-scale positioning or queuing to go through Hormuz in recent days.<\/p>\n Such hesitancy also reflects the cease-fire\u2019s fragility<\/a>, as the two-week truce<\/a> hinges on how Iran and the United States respond to Israel\u2019s continued strikes on Lebanon, which Israel says are targeting the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant organization. More than 1,700 people<\/a> have been killed in Lebanon since Israel launched its latest campaign against Hezbollah last month.<\/p>\n \u201cThe severity with which Israel is waging war there could cause the peace process as a whole to fail,\u201d German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Thursday.<\/p>\n The United States and Israel maintain that Lebanon is not part of the wider cease-fire deal<\/a>. However, Iran and mediator Pakistan insist that it is, and many other foreign governments have demanded that Lebanon be included. Israel\u2019s attacks on Lebanon \u201cshouldn\u2019t be happening,\u201d British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Thursday.<\/p>\n Following a phone call from Trump in which he asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to scale back its operations in Lebanon, Netanyahu announced on Thursday that he had instructed his cabinet to begin direct negotiations with the Lebanese government \u201cas soon as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe negotiations will focus on disarming Hezbollah and establishing peaceful relations between Israel and Lebanon,\u201d the Israeli leader said<\/a> in a statement. However, Netanyahu clarified that this did not equate to a cease-fire. \u201cThere is no ceasefire in Lebanon. We are continuing to strike Hezbollah with full force,\u201d he said<\/a>.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, U.S. and Iranian negotiators are expected to convene in Islamabad on Saturday for peace talks. However, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei<\/a> warned on Thursday that negotiations in Pakistan are conditional on Washington enforcing the cease-fire on all fronts, including in Lebanon.<\/p>\n Today\u2019s Most Read<\/p>\n What We\u2019re Following<\/p>\n Protecting European cables. Britain and Norway conducted<\/a> a covert, weekslong military operation in the North Atlantic to deter Russian spy submarines from attacking undersea pipelines and cables, British Defense Secretary John Healey revealed on Thursday. \u201cTo President [Vladimir] Putin, I say, \u2018We see you. We see your activity over our cables and our pipelines, and you should know that any attempt to damage them will not be tolerated and will have serious consequences,\u2019\u201d Healey said.<\/p>\n Healey accused<\/a> Moscow of using the Iran war as a distraction to carry out its own covert operations in the High North maritime area, which hosts critical infrastructure<\/a> and key shipping routes. Healey said that other U.K. allies took part in the mission, though he did not specify which ones, and he said that the operation had been successful in forcing the Russian vessels to eventually leave. There is no evidence of damage to cables or pipelines, he added.<\/p>\n European nations have previously accused<\/a> Russia\u2019s GUGI\u2014an agency that falls under the Russian military\u2014of conducting underwater sabotage, reconnaissance, and surveillance work. According to Healey, Moscow sent an Akula-class submarine as a diversionary tactic to the area while two GUGI spy subs surveilled nearby cables. Russia has previously denied allegations<\/a> that it has targeted European undersea infrastructure.<\/p>\n Hungary\u2019s election forecast. As Hungary prepares to hold crucial parliamentary elections<\/a> on Sunday, a majority of Hungarians want their country to pursue a different foreign policy toward the European Union. Only 19 percent of people surveyed wanted to continue the country\u2019s current trajectory under Prime Minister Viktor Orban, according to a new poll<\/a> published by the European Council on Foreign Relations on Thursday. Instead, 66 percent of respondents backed Budapest\u2019s accession to the eurozone and a whopping 77 percent supported Hungary\u2019s membership in the European Union.<\/p>\n These numbers do not bode well for Orban, who has made anti-EU and anti-Ukraine rhetoric a key strategy<\/a> of his reelection campaign. Since taking office 16 years ago, Orban has enacted a slew of far-right, nationalist policies. He has stripped same-sex couples<\/a> of their parental rights, cracked down on free press<\/a>, pursued hard-line anti-immigration policies<\/a>, and blocked the EU from providing Kyiv with billions of euros worth of aid\u2014making Hungary one of Europe\u2019s most influential illiberal democracies<\/a>.<\/p>\n This week, U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance threw<\/a> the White House\u2019s support behind Orban with a two-day endorsement trip in Budapest. Yet burgeoning support for opposition leader Peter Magyar may turn the tide, as a growing number of Hungarians view the EU as an ally, not an enemy\u2014particularly in the face of Russian threats against the continent. Orban is a close friend<\/a> of Putin\u2019s and has repeatedly expressed sympathy for Moscow.<\/p>\n Constructive talks. Afghanistan and Pakistan agreed on Wednesday not to escalate their weekslong border conflict<\/a>, which has killed hundreds of people and displaced around 94,000 others. According to Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning<\/a>, Kabul and Islamabad have vowed to \u201cexplore a comprehensive solution\u201d to the crisis and have promised to keep talking following seven days of Beijing-mediated peace talks.<\/p>\n Since fighting erupted in February, cross-border attacks have hit military installations, health care facilities, and residential areas; last month, a Pakistani airstrike<\/a> on a state-run drug rehabilitation center in Kabul killed more than 400 people.<\/p>\n \u201cTerrorism is the core issue affecting the relationship,\u201d Mao said on Wednesday. Pakistan has accused Afghanistan of harboring the Pakistani Taliban<\/a>, an Islamist militant group that has killed hundreds of Pakistani security officials in recent years. Kabul denies doing so despite evidence of the Afghan Taliban providing<\/a> the Pakistani Taliban with weapons.<\/p>\n Islamabad did not comment on the Chinese-mediated dialogue. However, Afghan Foreign Ministry spokesperson Abdul Qahar Balkhi<\/a> described the negotiations as being held in a \u201cconstructive atmosphere,\u201d and he conveyed hopes that the process will \u201cserve as a catalyst for further strengthening trust-building, sustainable relations, mutual understanding, and effective cooperation.\u201d<\/p>\n Odds and Ends<\/p>\n