By Ayomide Otitoju
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has warned that Iran must never be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons, emphasizing the grave threat such a development would pose to Israel, the wider Middle East, and global stability.
Speaking ahead of a NATO summit in The Hague on Tuesday, Rutte said his “greatest fear” was a nuclear-armed Iran exerting geopolitical control through intimidation and force. “When it comes to NATO’s stance on Iran’s nuclear programme, allies have long agreed that Iran must not develop a nuclear weapon,” he stated.
Rutte’s comments came as Iran and Israel engaged in a fresh round of cross-border strikes on Monday, with casualties mounting on both sides. Israel’s campaign, launched on June 13, has reportedly killed more than 400 people in Iran, according to Iranian health officials. Iranian strikes on Israel have claimed at least 24 lives.
Over the weekend, former U.S. President Donald Trump claimed that American warplanes had used “bunker buster” bombs to destroy Iranian nuclear infrastructure. However, U.S. and allied officials cautioned that it was too early to assess the full impact of the strike on Iran’s nuclear capabilities.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei condemned Israel’s military campaign, calling it “a big mistake,” while Iranian officials warned the U.S. bombing could escalate the regional conflict and lead to “serious, unpredictable consequences.”
Rutte also rejected suggestions that the Middle East conflict would overshadow the NATO summit. “Iranian drones are killing innocent Ukrainians every day… without any respect for life,” he added, linking Tehran’s support for Russia in Ukraine to wider security threats.
When asked about the legality of U.S. military strikes on Iran, Rutte defended Washington’s actions. “I would not agree that this is against international law,” he said.
