NATO’s secretary-general says the alliance wouldn’t come to Israel’s defence in case of attack by arch enemy Iran.
Jens Stoltenberg told German magazine Der Spiegel in comments published on Saturday that Israel is a partner, but not a member of the alliance and that NATO’s “security guarantee” doesn’t apply to Israel.
Stoltenberg says NATO is not involved in Middle East peace efforts or in conflicts in the region.
He spoke at a time of rising Israel-Iran tensions.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will travel to Europe on Monday to push his uncompromising stance on Iran to leaders eager to salvage the nuclear agreement after the United States withdrew from the accord.
Netanyahu, a fierce opponent of the agreement and the Iranian regime, will meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Theresa May.
Germany, France and the United Kingdom are three of the signatories of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) between world powers and Iran, aimed at keeping Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
The European leaders have been scrambling to preserve the landmark deal after slamming US President Donald Trump’s May 8 decision to withdraw, a move praised as a major triumph by Netanyahu.
The Israeli leader has brushed aside European insistence that the agreement is the best option to prevent Tehran acquiring the bomb, claiming that it brought Tehran closer to becoming a nuclear power.
He also argues that a cash influx into Iran following the lifting of international sanctions as part of the accord has fuelled the expansion of Tehran’s military influence in the region, especially in neighbouring Syria.
