NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has endorsed the latest American military strikes on Iran as "absolutely necessary", offering the alliance's strongest public backing for Washington's escalation as a NATO summit opens in Ankara, Turkey.
The United States struck more than 80 Iranian targets, including 60 vessels belonging to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, in retaliation for Iranian fire on civilian shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran responded by launching attacks on 85 US-linked military sites in Bahrain and Kuwait.
Rutte's remarks, delivered as alliance leaders gather in the Turkish capital, underscore Western support for the American campaign and signal that the widening confrontation will dominate the summit agenda.