NATO chief declines to comment on Iran having ballistic missiles

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte sidestepped a question regarding U.S. President Donald Trump's recent remarks suggesting support for Iran possessing certain conventional ballistic missiles. When pressed by CNN's Kaitlan Collins outside the White House, Rutte stated he could not "comment on everything."

Rutte pivoted the discussion to what he deemed the more critical issue: Iran's nuclear ambitions. He reiterated NATO's unwavering stance, shared by all 32 member nations including the United States, emphasizing that "Iran should never get its hands on the nuclear capability."

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What is important here is for NATO – that we always had a consistent position as an alliance with the United States, all the 32 nations – that Iran should never get its hands on the nuclear capability.

Trump's earlier comments, which appeared to contradict his administration's previous stance on eliminating Iran's ballistic missile threat, created ambiguity. He differentiated between "some" conventional ballistic missiles, which he deemed "aren't the problem," and unspecified others.

Rutte's refusal to engage directly with Trump's comments on ballistic missiles underscores NATO's unified focus on preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, a core alliance priority.

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I couldn’t comment on everything.