Baghaei: NATO Must Be Held Accountable for Complicity in US Crimes Against Iran

Mark Rutte's Admissions: Evidence of NATO's Participation in Aggression Esmaeil Baghaei, spokesperson for the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, announced on Thursday, June 25, 2026, in response to recent remarks by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, that the military alliance must be held accountable for its participation in hostile actions against Iran. In an interview with Fox News, Rutte explicitly acknowledged that NATO member states provided extensive logistical and operational support to US and Israeli forces during the military operation known as 'Epic Fury' against Iran [1][3]. Baghaei described these remarks as a 'clear and shocking confession' of NATO's complicity in an illegal war against a sovereign UN member state.

Details of Italian and Romanian Cooperation in Military Operations According to published reports, the NATO Secretary General referred to the key roles of Italy and Romania in facilitating airstrikes. Rutte revealed that Italy allowed more than 500 US military aircraft to take off from bases on its soil to attack Iran [2]. Additionally, Bucharest Airport in Romania was closed to civilian flights for a period to prioritize the refueling of American warplanes [5]. Referring to these details, Baghaei emphasized that these countries must explain to their own public and the world why they participated in an aggression that resulted in widespread damage to civilian infrastructure [4].

Violation of the UN Charter and Peremptory Norms of International Law The spokesperson for the Iranian diplomatic apparatus noted that this level of military cooperation is a flagrant violation of the peremptory norms of international law (jus cogens) and the fundamental principles of the United Nations Charter [3]. He stated that NATO and each of its member states involved in this decision-making are responsible for all legal and humanitarian consequences of this war of aggression [2]. Baghaei added that claims by some European officials regarding non-participation in military operations are in complete contradiction with the NATO Secretary General's explicit confessions and demonstrate deception in their international policies [1].

List of Affected Cities and Human Dimensions of the Aggression In another part of the statement, Baghaei pointed to the long list of cities targeted in these attacks. He named cities such as Minab, Lamerd, Tehran, Isfahan, Sanandaj, Hamadan, Tabriz, Shiraz, and Bandar Abbas, which witnessed heinous crimes and harm to civilian citizens [4][5]. The Foreign Ministry spokesperson emphasized that Iran reserves its right to legally pursue this case in international forums and that NATO cannot evade its responsibility for the blood shed and the destruction caused by moving forward [2].