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Former NATO ambassador warns of ‘terrible consequences’ in criticizing Trump Iran moves

Former US Ambassador to NATO Kurt Volker warned European countries against criticizing President Trump’s military operations against Iran.

“You may think this is a great stupidity and will have dire consequences, but you don’t have to say that,” Volker said. Politico’s “EU Confidential” podcast.

“By saying this, you alienate Donald Trump and run the risk of him associating your unhappiness with his policies with his unhappiness with some of his policies,” he continued.

Volker represented the United States at NATO from 2008 to 2009 and later served as special envoy to Ukraine in the first Trump administration.

He told Politico that European leaders “have ways to be proactive without taking unnecessary shots at President Trump that don’t actually do any good.”

Matt Whitaker, the current US ambassador to NATO, told Newsmax earlier this month that Trump was “re-evaluating” the country’s membership in that international military alliance amid reaction from European allies to US attacks on Iran.

Many European leaders expressed concern or expressed direct opposition after the United States and Israel launched a joint military operation against Tehran in late February. The conflict has been going on for approximately 56 days as of Friday evening.

The leaders of Britain, France and Germany strongly urged both sides to return to the negotiating table to reach a nuclear deal following the outbreak of hostilities.

The attacks even sparked opposition from some of Trump’s closest European allies, including Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

The Italian president strongly condemned the attack on a primary school in Iran, which killed 175 people. Officials told the New York Times that the attack was a result of targeting error by the US military; A report that the Pentagon refuses to confirm.

Earlier this month, Britain and France chaired a global summit on effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz during the conflict. Approximately one-fifth of the world’s oil consumption flows through critical waterways on a daily basis under typical conditions.

The two European countries brought together 51 countries in Paris last Friday to discuss a “strictly defensive” approach to securing the free movement of trade in the major trade corridor.

Trump has maintained a naval blockade of the strait during the indefinite ceasefire with Iran, blocking Iranian ports and preventing some ships from passing through the waterway. The US navy also carries out mine clearing operations in the strait to eliminate threats to ships passing through the strait during the period when the fighting was stopped.

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