NATO’s heading to Ankara next week, but the elephant in the room is still the US-Israel war on Iran — and whether Trump and European leaders can keep it civil.

Next week’s NATO summit in Ankara is supposed to be about unity, but the US-Israel war on Iran is making things a bit awkward, reports cbinews.tv.

NATO leaders are meeting in Türkiye’s capital with one big goal: don’t let the fallout from Iran derail the whole thing. Washington has been dialling back its commitments to the alliance, and President Trump’s stance on Iran isn’t exactly popular with the European crowd.

Most European leaders didn’t back the war on Iran. It went down badly with the public too. But here’s the thing — according to NATO officials speaking to Reuters, the “vast majority” of allies still let the US use their airspace and military bases during the conflict. Commitments were honoured, even if they weren’t happy about it.

Still, the war has left some personal relationships looking shaky. Trump’s ties with Italy’s Giorgia Meloni and outgoing UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer have taken a hit, and there’s a real chance that tension could spill over at the summit.

One senior NATO diplomat, who wasn’t named, told Reuters they’re hopeful it won’t kick off. “I’m optimistic [that won’t happen] because I think the leaders know what is at stake,” they said.

“And if something like that does occur, then we always have the ultimate marriage counsellor, Mark Rutte, to smooth things over.”

Source: cbinews.tv

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