NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has stated that the latest United\nStates strikes on Iran were \u2018absolutely necessary\u2019 following ceasefire\nviolations.<\/p>\n
The US military launched a fresh wave of strikes against Iranian\ntargets on Tuesday local time and revoked a licence for Iranian oil\nsales, after three oil tankers were hit in the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n
\u2018I think it was absolutely necessary because when there is a\nceasefire, and Iran basically breaks that ceasefire \u2013 we saw what\nhappened yesterday with the attacks on the ships \u2013 I think it is very\nimportant that the US reacts firmly,\u2019 Rutte told reporters ahead of a\nNATO leaders\u2019 summit in Ankara, Turkey, as reported by Reuters on\nWednesday.<\/p>\n
At the summit, European leaders are seeking to persuade US President\nDonald Trump to recommit to the military alliance, following disputes\nwith NATO allies over the Iran war and the Greenland issue.<\/p>\n
Rutte said there should be no doubt about \u2018the full commitment of the\nUnited States to NATO\u2019, which he said also serves to protect the US.\n\u2018But there is also an expectation that the Europeans and Canada will\nlevel up their spending with the United States, which I think is very\nreasonable,\u2019 he added. \u2018The good news is that this is a big win today.\nThis is a defeat for (Russian President Vladimir) Putin, and a win for\nPresident Trump, that the Europeans and Canadians are actually doing\nthat.\u2019<\/p>\n
The situation in the Strait of Hormuz escalated after Iran was\naccused of attacking three commercial vessels transiting the waterway in\nrecent days, including ships owned by Qatar and Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei rejected the\naccusations and stressed that Tehran remains committed to ensuring the\nsecurity of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz. However, he also warned\nthat \u2018vessels using the route without coordination with Iranian\nauthorities have exposed themselves to risk\u2019.<\/p>\n
Separately, Iranian state broadcaster IRIB, citing anonymous sources,\nclaimed that the Qatari tanker was targeted after repeatedly ignoring\nwarnings from Iranian forces while transiting the Strait of Hormuz with\nUS Navy support.<\/p>\n
In response to the attacks, US Central Command launched offensive\nstrikes against more than 80 Iran-linked targets, including Iranian air\ndefence systems, coastal radar sites, and over 60 small craft belonging\nto Iran\u2019s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.<\/p>\n
The IRGC retaliated against the US assault by striking American bases\nin Bahrain and Kuwait. The IRGC claimed that its naval and air forces\nconducted a combined missile and drone operation, hitting 85 key US\nmilitary facilities in the two countries and shooting down an MQ-9\ndrone.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/nato-chief-calls-us-strikes-on-iran-absolutely-necessary-after-truce-violations-1783500855", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }