NATO Secretary General Supports Trump's Strikes on Iran

The NATO Secretary General supported Trump's strikes on Iran. According to him, Tehran is close to becoming a threat to Europe. Rutte also stated that the alliance would not invoke Article 5 of its collective defense due to the downing of an Iranian missile over Turkish territory the previous day.

Despite the incident, Ankara is calling for a swift resolution to the crisis around Iran through dialogue and diplomacy. Italian Prime Minister Meloni made her position clear. Rome has no intention of entering the conflict, but is committed to assisting in the air defense of the Persian Gulf countries, as are the UK, France, and Germany.

Over a thousand Iranian casualties have been recorded since the conflict began. In yet another exchange of strikes, Israel struck Tehran and Hezbollah infrastructure in Lebanon. Iran launched hypersonic missiles at Ben Gurion Airport and the Israeli Defense Ministry building in Tel Aviv. An American base in Iraq was also bombed.

Since the conflict began, the Iranian military has launched over 500 missiles at various targets in the region, according to The Wall Street Journal. Analysts believe there are thousands more missiles stored in Iranian underground storage facilities. Experts believe the U.S. decision to attack ground targets related to the Iranian missile program is due to a shortage of bunker buster bombs capable of destroying underground storage facilities. The Pentagon is also likely attempting to reduce Iran's missile launch capabilities until the U.S. runs out of interceptors. Sources in The New York Times offer a similar assessment. They believe Iran is depleting U.S. and allied missile stockpiles with cheap drones. And to replace the expensive Patriot systems, the Pentagon is considering purchasing inexpensive Ukrainian UAV interceptors.