I commend the president: NATO boss backs Trumps Iran operation after European leaders balked

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte threw his support behind President Trump’s military campaign against Iran Thursday, praising the operation even as some European leaders have sought to distance themselves from the strikes.“What the US did is crucial,” Rutte told reporters in a roundtable interview.“I commend the president for doing that.”The NATO chief said both last year’s Midnight Hammer nuclear facility bombing campaign and the recent war operations — dubbed “Operation Epic Fury” — played a key role in degrading Tehran’s nuclear capabilities.“This whole operation, Epic Fury, and the bombing last year is all part of degrading the nuclear capability,” Rutte said.

“Which is crucial for Europe; crucial for, of course, the Middle East.”The remarks put Rutte at odds with several European politicians who have criticized Trump’s approach toward Iran or sought to publicly distance themselves from the operation — with some countries denying the US access to its military bases during the war.For example, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez in March blasted the US-led operation as “illegal, reckless and unjust” and warned that the West could not “play Russian roulette with the destiny of millions of people.” Spain saw the majority of Trump’s ire over a lack of NATO support for the war, with Madrid barring US war-related flights from Spanish airspace in addition to being one of the several countries that refused to allow American forces to use jointly operated military bases for the campaign.Still, Rutte argued Europe helped in other ways.“More generally speaking, Europe functioned as the power projection platform of the US,” he said, citing thousands of US military sorties launched from European bases.Rutte also credited Trump with forcing European nations to finally boost defense spending after years of lagging behind Washington.“I would say largely thanks to this president,” Rutte said.“I credit him for this.”The...