NATO chief’s backing of Trump’s Iran war deepens rift with Europe

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte has stirred unease across European capitals after signalling support for Donald Trump’s confrontation with Iran and suggesting that European allies could ultimately join US naval operations in the Strait of Hormuz.

The intervention has sharpened strains within the transatlantic alliance at a moment when Europe is already grappling with an energy shock triggered by the conflict.

Rutte’s indication that European allies would, in time, “come together” to heed the US president’s call to deploy naval assets to the Strait of Hormuz has unsettled officials in several capitals. According to alliance diplomats, the episode has intensified internal tensions over how far NATO members should align themselves with the bloc’s largest power.

“This puts us in a very difficult and uncomfortable position,” an EU diplomat told the Financial Times. “We want to show goodwill, but the reality is that we are in no position to become involved [in the conflict] in any way.”

The discomfort felt in many European capitals stands in stark contrast to Rutte’s remarks about a war that has inflicted significant damage in the Middle East and driven oil and gas prices sharply higher. The NATO chief has repeatedly sought to placate and praise Trump in an effort to keep the US anchored within the military alliance.

On Sunday, Rutte said of Trump’s decision to bomb Iran: “He is doing this to make the world safer.” Referring to the US leader’s call for NATO allies to contribute to a naval force escorting ships through the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has obstructed, Rutte added: “It is entirely natural for European countries to take a few weeks to come together.”

Trump, however, rebuked NATO allies for failing to respond immediately, branding them “COWARDS” and warning that without the US the alliance would be a “PAPER TIGER.” Since returning to office last year, the US president has repeatedly tested transatlantic unity through disputes over trade, defence spending, and threats to seize Greenland.

EU countries, all but three of which are also NATO members, collectively rejected Trump’s Hormuz proposal last week. The bloc’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, stated: “This is not our war,” a position echoed by ministers from Germany, Italy and Spain.

Three European diplomats within NATO said they were concerned about the growing divergence between Rutte’s stance and that of most European capitals. While they saw no reason to directly criticise Trump, they also did not endorse the decision to enter the war.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said on Tuesday: “This war is, moreover… a political catastrophe for those involved. And what troubles me most is this: it is truly a preventable, unnecessary war.”

France’s Chief of the Defence Staff, Fabien Mandon, said on Tuesday that the US had become “increasingly unpredictable and does not even bother to inform us when it decides to launch military operations.”

“This affects our security. It affects our interests,” Mandon added.

A NATO official told the Financial Times: “NATO is not involved in the war in Iran, but is closely monitoring the situation to keep allies safe. The secretary-general remains in constant contact with allied leaders across the alliance.”

Some European capitals, led by Paris, have indicated they may be willing to conduct patrol operations in the Strait of Hormuz after the war ends, in order to safeguard roughly one-fifth of global oil and gas shipments that pass through the vital waterway connecting the Gulf to international markets.

At the same time, some European officials have privately pushed back against describing the conflict as “not our war,” citing its significant impact on energy prices and the resulting increase in costs for households and businesses across Europe.

“The consequences are ours, therefore the conflict is ours,” one official said, adding that multiple capitals remain in contact with Middle Eastern countries affected by the war in an effort to pursue a diplomatic resolution.

The tensions over how to respond to the conflict and to Trump’s approach became more visible as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio travelled to France on Friday to meet his G7 counterparts and discuss “shared security concerns and opportunities for co-operation.”