NATO chief Mark Rutte praises Trump for actions against Iran

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte is in Washington this week for talks with US president Donald Trump, two weeks before the annual summit of the military alliance in Ankara.

Rutte's trip comes at a particularly tense moment as Trump has singled out NATO allies such as Britain, Germany and Italy for their refusal to aid the US-Israeli offensive in Iran.

Now with Tehran and Washington inching closer to draw an end to the four-month-old war, NATO officials hope the emerging peace deal between the parties will prevent the alliance's July summit from devolving into a public showdown.

Opening a face-to-face conversation with Trump in the Oval Office, Rutte lauds Trump for launching the military campaign and calls him the "leader of the free world."

"First of all, about Iran. I really want to make clear how important it is, what you are doing on Iran. This is, first of all, about the nuclear capability Iran was basically getting its hands on, and that would have been a threat to the region. It would have been a threat to the whole world."

Rutte says, "This is a leader of the free world taking responsibility beyond the shores of the United States for the rest of the world."

He further notes that European allies were, generally speaking, standing with Washington in the conflict before a ceasefire was reached, and argues that it would be very difficult to do Iran without having Europe as a power protection platform for the United States. "Look at the numbers. Four to five thousand US planes taking off from bases in Europe in the six weeks this war took place."

Trump says he just wants loyalty from NATO allies and that he doesn't believe it was the US troops that hit a school in Iran's Minab at the beginning of the war. He adds there were a lot of missiles being fired at that time.

Iranian authorities say 175 people lost their lives from a US-Israeli missile attack on an elementary school for girls on February 28th. Missile debris found at the scene reportedly bore markings consistent with American munitions.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio assures reporters in Kuwait that the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz will be toll-free as he arrives for Gulf meetings.

Rubio says: "I think the whole world will be against any mechanism that charges money to use an international waterway. It's that simple. The president's already said it, that's not going to happen. I am certain that not only will every country in the Gulf region be supportive, probably with the exception of Iran, but all the GCC members will be supportive, but the whole world will be supportive."

Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who held a phone call with his Pakistani counterpart Ishaq Dar on Wednesday, has reiterated that normal navigation through the strait should be restored as soon as possible.

This is to ensure the stability of global industrial and supply chains, Wang said.

He also insisted that relevant arrangements must respect the sovereignty and legitimate rights and interests of states bordering the strait, while conforming to international practices and the common aspirations of all nations.