Fully backing US President Donald Trump’s decision to resume strikes on Iran, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Wednesday called the operation “absolutely necessary”, adding that the strikes were crucial for “Israel, the region, Europe” and the wider world.
“I think what you did last night was absolutely necessary,” Rutte told Trump.
As Rutte sat alongside Trump at the NATO summit in Ankara, he said the attack had significantly weakened Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities, describing the operation as a “very strong response”.
Trump said he believed a ceasefire with Iran was now “over” following the strikes, adding that the United States had responded forcefully to Iranian attacks.
“We hit them very hard last night,” Trump told reporters. “I told them that every time you hit, we hit.”
Trump said the strikes were aimed at the “denuclearization of Iran”, adding that the United States would continue efforts to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear capabilities.
The comments followed overnight US strikes on southern Iran, after which Tehran said it launched retaliatory attacks targeting US military facilities in the Gulf.
Rutte not only defended Trump but also praised him for pushing NATO allies to increase defence spending, saying the US president had delivered a “huge win” for the alliance by encouraging European members and Canada to commit hundreds of billions of dollars in additional defence investment.
“When it comes to NATO, what you’ve achieved is a huge win,” Rutte said.
The NATO chief acknowledged that differences remained among allies over defence spending but said members had made progress, pointing to Spain’s increase in military spending to meet NATO’s current 2% target.
Trump, meanwhile, praised NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, who was speaking alongside him, but said he was “not happy” with the military alliance.
He said NATO allies “didn’t want to help us with the number one state sponsor of terror, that’s Iran”.
“I’m very upset with NATO,” Trump said, adding that the US pays “too much, billions and billions of dollars too much”.
He criticised some allies for providing insufficient support to the United States in its conflict with Iran and said he had instructed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to cut off trade with Spain, which he called a “terrible partner” within the 32-member alliance.
NATO leaders were holding the second day of their summit in Ankara, with defence spending, strengthening the alliance’s deterrence and defence posture, and continued support for Ukraine among the main issues on the agenda.
