NATO chief endorses US strikes on Iran

Shafaq News- Ankara

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Wednesday defended the latest US strikes on Iran as "very necessary," stressing that the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for global energy shipments, must remain fully open.

Speaking at the NATO summit in Ankara, Rutte accused Tehran of violating the recently signed US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding and backed Washington’s position on Iran’s nuclear file, reiterating that Tehran "should never get its hands on a nuclear capability."

Addressing US concerns over the positions taken by some NATO allies, including the refusal of some countries to join the Iran war, Rutte noted that Washington’s disappointment was limited to "individual cases."

United States Central Command (CENTCOM) reported earlier on Wednesday a series of "powerful" strikes against 80 targets in Iran in response to "attacks on three commercial vessels transiting Hormuz."

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) retaliated by targeting US military installations in Kuwait and Bahrain with ballistic missiles and drones, while also downing a US MQ-9 drone over Bushehr Province. The IRGC stated that the operation targeted 85 military facilities at Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait and the US United States Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain.