Secretary of State Mark Rubio recently traveled to the NATO Foreign Ministers Meeting where he discussed, among other things, the need for increased defense investment and greater burden sharing in the Alliance.
In a press briefing with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Secretary Rubio expressed President Donald Trump’s disappointment with “some of our NATO allies and their response to our operations in the Middle East.” The overall response from NATO members has ranged from a mix of limited cooperation to outright resistance.
“In the meantime,” Secretary Rubio affirmed “there are other areas where we continue with cooperation.” He noted President Trump’s announcement that the United States will deploy 5,000 troops to Poland.
“One of the areas where I think we definitely can cooperate on is the defense industrial base,” said Secretary Rubio. “It is clear to the world, to all of us in the Alliance and beyond, that we simply are not able to produce munitions today at a rate that are necessary for future needs. That’s something that has to be addressed.”
On the issue of Iran, “the fundamentals remain the same,” declared Secretary Rubio. “Iran can never have a nuclear weapon ... and to achieve that, we’re going to have to address the issue of ... the highly enriched uranium.”
The Strait of Hormuz also remains a critical issue of concern. “Iran is trying to create a tolling system,” said Secretary Rubio. “They’re trying to convince Oman, by the way, to join them in this tolling system in an international waterway. There is not a country in the world that should accept that,” stressed Secretary Rubio.
Currently, at the United Nations Bahrain, in collaboration with the United States, has proposed a draft resolution to the Security Council to address the escalating tensions in the Strait of Hormuz. The draft resolution demands that Iran immediately stop all attacks and threats against merchant and commercial vessels in the Strait. It calls for the cessation of illegal tolling practices imposed by Iran on vessels transiting the waterway. And it emphasizes the need for collective action to ensure the safety and security of navigation in this shipping route.
Unfortunately, said Secretary Rubio, there are a couple of countries on the Security Council who are thinking about vetoing it. “That would be lamentable,” he added.
Secretary Rubio underscored that NATO must unambiguously commit at the upcoming NATO Summit in Ankara, Türkiye, to rapidly scale defense production, expand the transatlantic defense industrial base, and turn spending commitments into real warfighting capabilities. “A stronger Europe means a stronger NATO.”