Iran has accused the US of violating the agreement aimed at ending the war between the two sides, after the US military launched strikes around the strait of Hormuz and revoked a temporary sanctions waiver for Tehran to export oil.
The US military said that it hit more than 80 targets in the early hours of Wednesday in response to Iranian attacks on three commercial vessels that were transiting through the strait of Hormuz on Tuesday.
Iran responded by launching attacks on US military sites in Bahrain and Kuwait, with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps claiming 85 facilities had been targeted. Air raid sirens were heard in both countries and the Kuwaiti army said air defences were confronting “hostile” missile and drone attacks, but there was no confirmation of any damage.
US media reported that Donald Trump signed off on the strikes while attending the Nato summit in Turkey. Speaking on Wednesday morning, Nato’s secretary general, Mark Rutte, backed the US attacks, saying: “When you have a ceasefire and Iran is basically violating the ceasefire, I think it is totally crucial that the U.S. forcefully react.”
Rutte is just playing a psychological game. Note how he talks about “you” (Trump) and “the US” (not NATO). He pleases Trump and distances NATO from it at the same time.
“Allies within NATO provide key support that enables operations. What we see here is that NATO, in that sense, also represents a platform for projecting American power. Because without European allies it would be very difficult for the United States to launch this campaign against Iran,” Rutte said.
