00:00but it's a display of force. As Donald Trump boasted of US military success in its war with Iran,
00:06he couldn't resist again blasting a lack of help from NATO. One thing we're very disappointed,
00:12I'll say it publicly, we're very disappointed with NATO because NATO has done absolutely nothing.
00:17This was a test. You can help us. You don't have to, but if you don't have, you know,
00:22if you don't do that, we're going to remember. In particular, the US president has been calling
00:27on other countries, including NATO members, to help secure the Strait of Hormuz, through which
00:32oil and natural gas exports have been heavily disrupted. Some European leaders, like French
00:38President Emmanuel Macron, have expressed willingness to get involved, but only once the bombing has
00:44calmed. Most of the other 31 NATO allies see the Iran war as unnecessary and illegal under international
00:51law, not to mention the fact that it has sent oil and gas prices surging.
00:58This war is also, and please forgive me for saying this as someone directly affected,
01:03a politically disastrous mistake.
01:08It's unsurprising then that NATO Chief Mark Rutte, who's already known for publicly flattering the US
01:15President, has ruffled some feathers by praising Washington's actions in Iran. On Thursday,
01:20he reiterated that Trump's actions made the world a safer place.
01:25NATO has for some time been clear. Iran cannot possess a nuclear weapon. And NATO has also long
01:33recognized the threat Iran's missile program posts to allies and their interests. And what the United
01:40States is currently doing is degrading those capabilities. Rutte, like many European leaders,
01:46is wary of angering the alliance's biggest member, crucial in continued support for Ukraine.
01:52But the Secretary General alone can't compel members to step up more forcefully.
01:57Invoking Article 5 of its mutual defense clause would mean that members move to the defense of its attacked
02:04ally. But in this case, the United States is the one who attacked Iran first.
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