NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte threw his support behind President Trump’s military campaign against Iran Thursday, praising the operation even as some European leaders have sought to distance themselves from the strikes.
“What the US did is crucial,” Rutte told reporters in a roundtable interview. “I commend the president for doing that.”
The NATO chief said both last year’s Midnight Hammer nuclear facility bombing campaign and the recent war operations — dubbed “Operation Epic Fury” — played a key role in degrading Tehran’s nuclear capabilities.
“This whole operation, Epic Fury, and the bombing last year is all part of degrading the nuclear capability,” Rutte said. “Which is crucial for Europe; crucial for, of course, the Middle East.”
The remarks put Rutte at odds with several European politicians who have criticized Trump’s approach toward Iran or sought to publicly distance themselves from the operation — with some countries denying the US access to its military bases during the war.
For example, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez in March blasted the US-led operation as “illegal, reckless and unjust” and warned that the West could not “play Russian roulette with the destiny of millions of people.”
Spain saw the majority of Trump’s ire over a lack of NATO support for the war, with Madrid barring US war-related flights from Spanish airspace in addition to being one of the several countries that refused to allow American forces to use jointly operated military bases for the campaign.
Still, Rutte argued Europe helped in other ways.
“More generally speaking, Europe functioned as the power projection platform of the US,” he said, citing thousands of US military sorties launched from European bases.
Rutte also credited Trump with forcing European nations to finally boost defense spending after years of lagging behind Washington.
“I would say largely thanks to this president,” Rutte said. “I credit him for this.”
The NATO chief also offered another notable assessment when discussing Trump’s evolving relationship with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whom the president called “courageous” in remarks a day earlier.
Rutte suggested Trump’s warmer comments about Zelensky during their meeting in the Oval Office on Wednesday reflected growing recognition of Ukraine’s recent battlefield successes against Russia.
“I think what the president also acknowledged … is that the Ukrainians are doing quite well,” Rutte said.
He pointed to successful Ukrainian strikes against Russian oil refineries and military targets deep inside Russian territory, while arguing Moscow’s losses continue to mount to roughly 35,000 troops per month.
“The Russians are losing now what the Soviets lost in 10 years in Afghanistan,” he said.
Rutte said Ukraine’s military has effectively stalled Russia’s advance and may even be regaining territory in some areas.
“The Russians stopped making big advances,” he said. “There’s even some talk of the Ukrainians getting back some of the territory from the Russians.”
At the same time, he stressed that Kyiv remains heavily dependent on Western air defense systems, particularly Patriot batteries and missile interceptors, which are supplied by the US but paid for by European partners.
Despite more than a year of US-led diplomatic efforts, Rutte said Russian President Vladimir Putin has shown little genuine interest in ending the war.
“The problem is that Putin is not playing ball,” he said. “The only one willing to sit down is Zelensky. Zelensky is willing to sit down with Putin, sit down with anyone to get to a deal.”
“Putin is not serious so far, because he’s only repeating his maximalist demands,” he added.
Rutte rejected suggestions that the Trump administration had shifted attention away from Ukraine because of the Iran conflict, arguing senior US officials remain deeply involved in efforts to broker a settlement.
“The president himself, but also [Secretary of State Marco] Rubio and [Special Envoy Steve] Witkoff and [Jared] Kushner” remain engaged, he said.
Rutte suggested that any lack of progress is because of Moscow.
“I don’t think it’s a lack of focus [on the Ukraine war,]” he said. “It is absolutely part of the fact that the Russians are not really involved.”
