North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has voiced support for ongoing US and Israeli strikes on Iran, describing the operations as a significant blow to Tehrans nuclear and ballistic missile ambitions, while firmly stating that the alliance itself will not participate in the conflict., Speaking in Brussels during an interview with Germanys ARD television, Rutte said the military action by Washington and Tel Aviv is weakening Irans capacity to advance sensitive weapons programmes. Its really important what the US is doing here, together with Israel, because it is taking out, degrading the capacity of Iran to get its hands on nuclear capability, the ballistic missile capability, he said. His comments come amid escalating tensions in the Middle East following large-scale airstrikes by American and Israeli forces targeting Iranian military infrastructure. The conflict has raised concerns about a broader regional war and whether international alliances such as NATO could be drawn in. Rutte, however, made clear that NATO as an institution has no intention of becoming directly involved. There are absolutely no plans whatever for NATO to get dragged into this or being part of it, he said, noting that while individual member states may choose to support US efforts independently, the alliance will not engage collectively. The post NATO distances alliance from Iran conflict but backs US-Israel military campaign appeared first on Linda Ikeji Blog.