Since the beginning of the US-Israel war on Iran, President Donald Trump has been critical of his European allies for not supporting the military campaign against Tehran.
The US president expressed his displeasure with members of the transatlantic alliance during a meeting with NATO chief Mark Rutte on Wednesday. “I was disappointed with Italy. I was disappointed with the UK, Germany, and France. Spain is a horror show,” Trump said.
Speaking to reporters in the Bahraini capital Manama, Trump’s top diplomat, Marco Rubio, repeated the US claims that European help fell short during the conflict. “Europe not allowing use of military bases undermines alliance between the continent and US,” he said.
NATO’s Rutte, who has been visiting the US to ease transatlantic tensions, revealed more about the involvement of European nations in the war. “Ally after ally,” he said, made their bases available to the US military during the war on Iran. Rutte’s comments revealed that aside from “isolated cases”, European allies had, in fact, helped the US with logistics during the war.
Rutte referred to Italy and Romania’s assistance to the US military, pointing to the role European bases played in the war. “When you look at the numbers, 4-5,000 US planes [were] taking off from bases in Europe in the six weeks this war took place,” Rutte told Fox News.
“I do agree there’s reason for disappointment, absolutely,” Rutte said. “But my argument is this: these are isolated cases. Country after country, ally after ally after ally, have made their bases available for Epic Fury,” Rutte said, referring to the US-given name of the military operation against Iran.
Rutte noted that 500 US planes flew from bases in Italy during Operation Epic Fury, while Romania had to cut down on commercial air flights to allow US forces to store tankers at the city’s airport.
The NATO chief added that European allies are continuing to assist the US with defending the Strait of Hormuz. “You see now massive European allies pre-positioning their assets close to the Strait so to be able to help, for example, when it comes to demining,” Rutte said.
The United Kingdom’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer refused to join the war but allowed the use of its base in Diego Garcia strictly for defensive manoeuvres. Spain, which condemned the war, and France refused the use of their airbases for military purposes.
European nations largely backed Trump’s military campaign against Iran but refused active participation in the conflict, saying “this is not Europe’s war”. European capitals have also been reluctant due to a lack of a legal basis for the war, which was launched on questionable grounds and without consultation with Brussels.
Iran seized on Rutte’s statement, calling out NATO’s “active complicity” in the US-Israel war that killed more than 3,400 people in Iran and caused extensive damage to oil and civilian infrastructure. “This is a clear and damning admission of NATO’s active complicity in an unlawful war of aggression against a sovereign UN Member State,” Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson wrote.
Rutte’s comments have caused an uproar in Italy, where Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has publicly refused to join the war against Iran. Rome was quick to distance itself from Rutte’s comments. Italy’s Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said that Rutte had conveyed a “totally misleading message” by confusing authorised support flights with combat-related operations.
NATO, which includes European countries, the United States and Canada, was formed in 1949 to counter threats posed by the erstwhile Soviet Union. Since returning to the White House in 2024, Trump has been critical of NATO, often targeting the alliance members for their lower military spending. He has accused EU nations of taking the US for granted as he pushed them to share more of the burden for Europe’s security.
Source: www.aljazeera.com