ANKARA, July 8 (Reuters) – The new attacks by the U.S. on Iran were “absolutely necessary,” NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said on Wednesday.
The U.S. military unleashed a new wave of strikes against Iran on Tuesday and revoked a license allowing Tehran to sell oil after three tankers were hit by projectiles in the Strait of Hormuz, putting pressure on an already fragile ceasefire.
“When you have a ceasefire and Iran is basically violating the ceasefire, I think it is totally crucial that the U.S. forcefully react,” Rutte told reporters before a summit of NATO leaders in Ankara.
At their summit, European leaders aim to convince Donald Trump to re-commit to the military alliance, after the U.S. president revived his disputes with them over the Iran war and Greenland.
Rutte said there could be no doubt over the “complete commitment of the United States to NATO,” which he said also works to protect the United States.
“But there’s also the expectation that the Europeans and the Canadians will equalise their spending with the United States, which I think is completely fair,” he added.
“The good news is that this is the big win today. It’s the loss for Putin, it is a win for President Trump that the Europeans and the Canadians are doing exactly that.”
(Reporting by Lili Bayer and Andrew Gray; Writing by Bart Meijer; Editing by Tom Hogue and Andrew Heavens)
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