NATO countries are contributing ‘staggering’ amounts to defense, Secretary General Mark Rutte says
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte previews his meeting with President Donald Trump and gives a status update on the Russia-Ukraine conflict on ‘Special Report.’
NATO Secretary Gen. Mark Rutte praised President Donald Trump’s actions in Iran as necessary to keep NATO allies safe and addressed the commander-in-chief's disappointment in what he describes as a lack of support from NATO allies.
"I think the president is doing exactly what is needed, degrading Iran's nuclear capability," Rutte said Tuesday on "Special Report."
"Could you imagine if Iran would get its hands on a nuclear weapon?" he continued. "This is an exporter of chaos. It is an exporter of terrorism. It would be devastating for the region. It would be devastating for the whole world."
Rutte’s remarks come after Trump unloaded a fresh round of insults against NATO amid lingering tensions between the alliance and the White House.
NATO CHIEF PRAISES TRUMP AT DAVOS, SAYS HE FORCED EUROPE TO ‘STEP UP’ ON DEFENSE
President Donald Trump looks on during a NATO summit of heads of state and government on June 25, 2025, in The Hague, Netherlands. (Piroschka Van De Wouw/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)
"The numbers that we spend are so crazy on NATO, and they weren't there for us," the president said Monday. "We spent all of this money and then when we want to maybe have help on small stuff… they say, ‘No, we'd rather not help.’"
"Stupid thing to say because we can say that to them if we want, and we might," Trump added.
The NATO leader told "Special Report" executive editor Bret Baier he "totally" understands the president’s disappointment with the alliance but clarified that allies have provided military to the U.S. during the conflict with Iran.
US ALLY ANSWERS TRUMP'S CALL ON STRAIT OF HORMUZ: 'PART OF A DIPLOMATIC EFFORT'
"When it comes to NATO, I know there is disappointment," Rutte said. "But let's also see that these are isolated cases, because there is something more to say about this. Country after country, ally after ally after ally, have made their bases available for Epic Fury."
Two F/A-18 Super Hornets launch from the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in support of Operation Epic Fury on March 3, 2026. (U.S. Navy/Reuters)
Rutte shared that 500 U.S. planes utilized Italian bases during Operation Epic Fury and Bucharest had to cut down on commercial air flights for U.S. forces to store tanker facilities at the city’s airport.
He also said allies are continuing to assist the U.S. with defending the Strait of Hormuz.
"You see now massive European allies pre-positioning their assets close to the Strait so to be able to help, for example, when it comes to demining," Rutte said.
Rutte, who said he is "completely behind" Trump’s Iran strategy, credited him with making NATO "stronger," making the U.S. safer and encouraging allies to invest more in defense.
"When you look at the numbers of the investments NATO countries are now making in their own defense, it is staggering," the NATO secretary general said.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
"When it comes to the jobs from the defense industry, when it comes to ramping up the defense industrial production, when it comes to ramping up defense spending, [Trump] is really encouraging everyone to do that and the results are there."
Rutte emphasized the victory of Trump’s actions in Iran, including the deal Trump is calling his "historic peace agreement" with Iran.
The NATO head, who is set to meet with Trump on Wednesday, said the president has done "exactly what is necessary."
"All of this is leadership necessary to make sure we stay safe as an alliance to the United States, the alliance as a whole," Rutte said.
