Rutte defends Trump's strikes on Iran, claims they were 'absolutely necessary'

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Wednesday defended the strikes launched by United States President Donald Trump against Iran, calling them absolutely necessary. Speaking to reporters alongside Trump on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, Rutte said the US military operation had weakened Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities, describing it as a ‘very strong response’. ‘I think what you did last night was absolutely necessary,’ Rutte said. He argued the strikes were important for ‘Israel, the region, Europe,’ and the world at large. On the same occasion, Trump told reporters he believed a ceasefire deal with Iran had ended following the overnight strikes. ‘We hit them very hard last night. I told them, every time you attack, we attack too,’ Trump said. He added that the operation was part of an effort to ‘denuclearise Iran’ and affirmed the US would continue working to eliminate the country’s nuclear capabilities. The statements came after the US launched strikes on southern Iran the previous night, which Tehran retaliated against with attacks on US military facilities in the Gulf region. Rutte also praised Trump for pushing NATO member states to increase defence spending. He said the US President had secured a ‘big win’ by urging European nations and Canada to allocate hundreds of billions of additional dollars to the defence sector. ‘In terms of NATO, what you have achieved is a big win,’ Rutte said. While acknowledging differences of opinion among allies regarding budgets, Rutte assessed that significant progress had been made. He cited Spain as an example, noting it had increased its military spending to meet NATO’s target of 2 percent of GDP. Meanwhile, Trump criticised certain allies he deemed to have provided insufficient support to the US in the war against Iran. He also announced he had instructed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to halt trade relations with Spain, which he called a ‘bad partner’ in the 32-member defence alliance. NATO leaders are currently on the second day of the summit in Ankara, with the main agenda covering increased defence spending, strengthening the alliance’s defence and deterrence posture, and continued support for Ukraine.