NATO Secretary General: NATO's 'security guarantees' do not include Israel in case of a potential Iranian attack

The Secretary General of NATO states that while Israel is a partner of NATO, its 'security guarantees' will not include Israel in the event of a potential attack from Iran. In an interview with the German magazine Spiegel, Jens Stoltenberg emphasized that despite Israel being a partner of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, it is not a member of the alliance. He cited this as the reason for the exclusion of NATO's 'security guarantees' regarding Israel. In the interview published on Saturday, June 1, Stoltenberg also clarified that NATO has not been involved in Middle Eastern peace efforts and will not intervene in the region's disputes. The Associated Press noted that these remarks come at a time when tensions between Israel and Iran are escalating. Part of this tension stems from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's staunch opposition to the Iran nuclear deal with world powers, which, in exchange for limitations on Iran's nuclear program, lifts significant international sanctions on Tehran. Both Israel and the current U.S. administration under Donald Trump view the nuclear deal with Iran as having multiple flaws and being ineffective in curbing Iran's ambitions in the region. This stance led Trump to announce the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA nearly a month ago. Another issue that Israel has been closely monitoring is Iran's military presence near its borders in Syria. Israel, which has expressed concern over this for months, has recently sought global support for the withdrawal of Iranian forces from Syria. In the context of curbing Iran's influence in Syria, the Israeli Defense Minister recently met with his Russian counterpart in Moscow, and leaders of the two countries also consulted by phone on Thursday evening. Netanyahu emphasized this week that his country will target Iranian soldiers and their allies not only near the Syrian border with Israel but anywhere in Syria as deemed necessary. He has previously stated that Israel's actions in this regard will not be limited to the borders of Syria and that if necessary, Israel will confront the Islamic Republic on Iranian soil as well. On Thursday, following the meeting of the Israeli and Russian defense ministers, the Russian news agency Interfax reported that the details of establishing a de-escalation zone in southern Syria were at the top of their discussions. The day after, the Russian ambassador to the United Nations confirmed that Israel and Russia had agreed on the withdrawal of Iranian forces and their allies from the borders of Syria with Israel. However, Iran denied the presence of its forces in southern Syria through Ali Shamkhani, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council. Shamkhani also claimed that despite numerous reports, including from Iranian media, about the deaths of Iranian forces in Syria, the presence of Iranian forces in Syria is 'advisory.' This is while military officials of the Islamic Republic, including Hossein Hamadani and Mohammad Eskandari, have reported in recent years on the formation and equipping of at least 42 brigades and the 'expectation of 130,000 trained Basij forces to enter Syria.' The bodies of several Iranian casualties in Syria have also been buried in government ceremonies upon their return to the country. In the past couple of months, several military actions attributed to Israel in Syrian territory have resulted in the deaths of over 40 Iranian forces, increasing speculation about direct conflict between the two countries on Syrian soil. Recently, the U.S. Secretary of Defense stated in a congressional meeting that he could guess how a direct confrontation between Iran and Israel 'might begin but cannot say how far and where it will extend.' James Mattis described the likelihood of direct confrontation between Iran and Israel in Syria as being due to actions by Hezbollah against Israel 'on behalf of Iran,' but added that he sees no reason 'for Iran to provide Hezbollah with more advanced missiles through Syria with the aim of threatening Israel.'