The Secretary General of NATO, Mark Rutte, attracted major attention with a statement that the Alliance is, among other things, a “platform for projecting American power,” a formulation rarely heard from the highest officials of this military alliance. Rutte said this in an interview with Reuters, speaking about NATO’s role in the context of rising tensions in the Middle East and the military campaign against Iran.
“It is clear that NATO itself is not involved in this. 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.
Rutte then repeated a similar formulation in a speech for Newsmax.
“NATO is here to protect us, collectively from any opponent, whether it be Russia, or anyone else, or terrorism. But it is also a platform for the United States to project power on the world stage,” Rutte said.
Such statements sparked controversy because NATO has for years claimed that it is primarily a defensive alliance whose main purpose is the collective security of its members. Critics, however, claim that with this formulation Rutte openly acknowledged what has long been discussed in political debates — that NATO in practice often functions as an instrument of the American global military strategy.
NATO's chief Rutte plainly stating that NATO is a "platform for the United States to project power on the world stage" is refreshingly honest, though a huge diplomatic blunder stripped of the standard "defensive alliance" verbiage. pic.twitter.com/3KRuwwjjK2
— Nina 🐙 Byzantina (@NinaByzantina) March 5, 2026
At the same time, Rutte emphasized that the Alliance is closely monitoring the situation after Iran launched a ballistic missile toward Turkey, a NATO member. According to him, the missile was intercepted thanks to NATO air defense systems, which, as he said, shows that the alliance is ready to “defend every inch of its territory.”
Speaking about the broader conflict in the Middle East, Rutte assessed that Iran represents a potential threat not only to the region but also to Europe, especially in the context of the development of missile and nuclear capabilities. He emphasized that there is agreement among Western allies that Tehran must be prevented from once again becoming, as he said, a “deadly threat to its neighbors.”
“We know that Iran was close to acquiring nuclear capabilities, as well as missile capacities, which would represent a threat not only to the Middle East and, of course, to Israel — potentially even an existential threat to Israel — but also a threat to Europe,” Rutte said.
However, Rutte stressed that for now there is no talk of activating NATO Article 5, which provides for collective defense in the event of an attack on one of the members. “No one is currently talking about Article 5,” he said, adding that the most important thing is for NATO’s opponents to see that the Alliance is “strong and vigilant,” especially in light of the increasingly unstable situation in the Middle East.
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Source: Serbian Times; Foto: Reuters