NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte on Wednesday praised President Trump’s tentative agreement with Iran to end the fighting and reopen the Strait of Hormuz as a “massive step forward,” and said allies are ready to support it.
“The U.S. action to prevent the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran and degrade its ballistic missile capability improves security for us all,” Mr. Rutte said. “The deal President Trump struck has created an opportunity to ensure Iran never obtains a nuclear weapon.”
Mr. Rutte commented during a press conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, ahead of Thursday’s meeting of alliance defense ministers. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is scheduled to take part.
He said the expected restoration of vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz would be a “massive step forward.”
European allies have stepped up to provide additional forces to NATO in a crisis after the U.S. announced last month that it would reduce the military assets it contributes to the alliance, Mr. Rutte said.
“We need more forces, more resources, and a much stronger industrial base,” he said. “That means making steady increases to defense investment, and more fairly sharing responsibility for our collective security.”
During last year’s NATO summit in The Hague, allies agreed that they would devote at least 5% of their GDP toward military spending by 2035.
“I expect nations to present clear, concrete, and credible plans to reach that goal, ideally, well ahead of the agreed timeline,” Mr. Rutte said. “Many are already showing that they are doing exactly that.”
The Trump administration’s decision to adjust its contributions to NATO doesn’t mean the U.S. is pulling away from its long-term allies, Mr. Rutte said.
“The U.S. has made it clear that it is committed to NATO. That commitment comes with an expectation that Allies will more fairly share the responsibility for our security here in Europe,” the NATO chief said. “They have made clear that the U.S. nuclear deterrent is solid.”
Providing support to Ukraine in its war with Russia, now in its fifth year, remains a priority for NATO. Kyiv is demonstrating that the once-vaunted Russian war machine isn’t unstoppable, Mr. Rutte said.
“Ramping up defense investment means ramping up defense production. We need this across the whole of the [NATO] alliance on both sides of the Atlantic,” he said. “We also know that the security environment is evolving, and NATO is evolving with it.”
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