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NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte voiced full support for President Donald Trump’s strikes on Iran, declaring key allies stand “all for one, one for all” amid Tehran’s widening missile retaliation.
“There is no sliver of light between us,” Rutte told “Fox & Friends” on Monday.
“The Europeans, Canada, Mark Carney, the United States, the American president… All for one, one for all, because everybody supports, here in Europe, the fact that [Ayatollah Ali] Khamenei is gone, that the nuclear capability is gone, that the ballistic missile program has been now degraded — which was a big threat for Europe, for Israel, for the whole region,” he said.
Rutte commended Trump for crippling the Iranian regime’s military capabilities and eliminating Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, saying European leaders expressed broad backing during conversations over the weekend.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte holds a press conference ahead of NATO Defense Ministers’ Meeting at NATO Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium on Feb. 11. (Dursun Aydemir/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“This is crucial,” Rutte said.
“And what I see in Europe — I spoke with all the key European leaders over the weekend — is widespread support for what the president is doing, and also making sure that when it comes to logistics, access, defending key U.S. Interests in Europe and in the region, the Europeans are really stepping up.”
Rutte’s comments came as Iran fired missiles at military and civilian targets in Israel and Gulf states following the U.S.-led strikes.
KEY MILITARY SITES TARGETED INSIDE IRAN AS PART OF COORDINATED US-ISRAELI STRIKES
A screen grab from a video released on President Donald Trump’s Truth Social account shows Trump making statements regarding combat operations on Iran on Feb. 28 in Palm Beach, Fla. (US President Trump Via Truth Social/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Rutte said he personally spoke with several top European leaders in the immediate aftermath of the strikes and views their responses as supportive.
“When you look, for example, at Friedrich Merz, the German Chancellor, he is now traveling to Washington for meetings tomorrow with President Trump. He has made the best type of comments over the last couple of days. I really think he is completely supportive of what is happening,” he said.
“You see the same from France when it comes to all the help they are giving, and also from the UK. The problem with the UK was legal for these defensive operations,” he continued.
Rutte acknowledged that Britain initially hesitated to provide U.S. forces with access to its bases, saying the issue centered on legal clearance for defensive operations.
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“They needed the legal case to be solid, so last night they came around. I think that’s important.”
French newspaper Le Monde reported Monday that, though European leaders reacted with “extreme caution” after strikes began Saturday, their “tone shifted in response to Tehran’s regional counteroffensive” the next day, even issuing a joint statement vowing to not stand by in the event of further “indiscriminate” attacks.
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