On Thursday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei accused NATO of "complicity" in what he called the "illegal war of aggression" launched by the United States and Israel against Iran.
Baghaei responded to comments made by NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte during an interview with Fox News. Rutte claimed that "500 American aircraft took off from U.S. bases in Italy" to support the U.S. and Israel’s assault on Iran on February 28.
Rutte also revealed that Bucharest Airport reduced commercial flights to accommodate refueling planes involved in the military campaign, and that between 4,000 and 5,000 U.S. planes took off from European bases during the conflict.
Baghaei wrote on "X": "This is a clear and unequivocal admission of NATO's active complicity in an illegal war of aggression against a sovereign United Nations member state."
He pointed out that Rutte "explicitly named Italy and Romania as participants in the aggression against Iran."
Baghaei added, "These two countries, along with all other European nations that supported the American-Israeli aggression against Iran, must explain to their people and to the world why they chose to participate in this blatant act of aggression and in committing mass atrocities against the Iranian people."
The Italian Defense Ministry condemned Rutte's statements on Wednesday, calling them a "completely misleading message" and asserted that Rome had only permitted the United States to use its bases for technical and logistical flights, not combat missions.