While speaking to reporters at NATO HQ in Brussels, Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen said Tuesday that NATO is under no obligation to join President Donald Trump's military push tied to Iran, drawing a sharp line between the alliance's collective-defense mission and Washington's current campaign in the Middle East.
In an interview with Euronews, the Finnish foreign minister said NATO's "raison d'être is the defence of Europe and the North Atlantic," and stressed that the alliance is "indeed a defensive alliance" that "won't be dragged into any war of choice." She added that "We of course have a collective interest - and I should say not only within NATO - but as the world, to have the oil flowing, to de-escalate, and that is certainly something we are calling for."
Valtonen's position reflects a broader European argument that NATO is a defensive alliance designed to protect member states in the North Atlantic area, not to automatically back U.S. military operations launched outside that framework. Article 5 of NATO's founding treaty says that when an ally suffers an armed attack in Europe or North America, or in certain defined adjacent areas, and even then, members choose "such action as it deems necessary," which may or may not include armed force.
European leaders have made clear that they do not want to be drawn into a war they did not start. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Europe's most likely role would be diplomatic, not combat-related. She told Reuters that no one was ready to put their people "in harm's way" in the Strait of Hormuz and said the priority should be finding a negotiated path to keep the waterway open. Kallas also said Europeans had not been consulted before the war began and had, in many cases, tried to dissuade Washington and Israel from launching it.
The comment landed just hours after Trump accused NATO allies of making a "very foolish mistake" by refusing to help. Speaking in the Oval Office during a visit by Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin, Trump said most NATO countries had told Washington they did not want to get involved in the U.S. military operation in Iran. He said allied governments supported the effort in principle but were unwilling to contribute militarily. Later, he wrote that the United States no longer "needs" or desires NATO assistance.
On Monday, The Wall Street Journal has reported that the Trump administration is pressing ahead with plans to assemble a coalition of countries to help escort commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz, publicly calling on countries including China, Japan, South Korea, Britain, and France to contribute to a protective maritime mission.
He also warned NATO allies that the alliance faces a "very bad" future if they refuse to help reopen the strait, while also arguing that nations benefiting most from the trade route should commit military support, such as minesweepers and air defenses. The Associated Press similarly reported that the administration is seeking warships and other contributions from Asian and European partners to secure the passage.
