NATO Chief: Europe Should Have Attacked Iran Instead of the U.S

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte admitted that Europe was unable to confront Iran on its own, asserting that the region, rather than the United States, should have shouldered that responsibility.

"Europe was unable to neutralize Iran's nuclear capability. We couldn't do it [...] It shouldn't be the Americans doing it; it should be us," Rutte stated in an interview on Wednesday, lamenting the fact that the continent lacked the necessary means to strike Tehran at the time and implying that it still lacks them.

In this context, he stated that increased defense investment would enable European nations to take charge of security in their own region. "In ten years, we will be able to, and will have to, do so," he added.

Nevertheless, the head of the Atlantic Alliance backed the U.S. intervention regarding Iran, describing it as "absolutely essential," while adding that it should be the Europeans—not Washington—who deal with the Houthis in the Red Sea.