Thursday March 19, 2026

NATO should stay out of war in Iran, Stubb tells BBC

Published : 18 Mar 2026, 21:48

DF Report

President Alexander Stubb was speaking at an event in London on Tuesday, March 17, 2026. Photo: President Office by Emmi Syrjäniemi.

President Alexander Stubb said that as a defensive alliance NATO should stay out of the war in Iran.

Talking to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in an interview in London recently the President termed the middle east war as US and Israel’s conflict.

"What I have always said [is that], NATO is a defence alliance, it is a military alliance. It is not an alliance that attacks," Stubb told BBC.

Pointing out the situation in Ukraine, he also expressed uncertainty about the fate of the world.

“The changing date was the war in Ukraine in February 2022, and then probably the new American administration. So we don't know where the world is going to land. We live a little bit in a world of disorder right now,” the report added, quoting Stubb as saying.

Earlier, US President Donald Trump criticized NATO for not helping the United States.

"I am not surprised by their action, however, because I always considered NATO, where we spend Hundreds of Billions of Dollars per year protecting these same Countries, to be a one way street -- We will protect them, but they will do nothing for us, in particular, in a time of need," Trump said.

"We, as the United States, have to remember that," he told reporters at the White House. "I just think that it's not good for a partnership."

"I think NATO is making a very foolish mistake," Trump said. "And I've long said that, you know, I wonder whether or not NATO would ever be there for us. So this was a great test, because we don't need them, but they should have been there."

The NATO membership is "certainly something that we should think about," he said.

Trump on Monday complained that U.S. allies are reluctant to answer his call to join a White House-proposed multinational mission to escort oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz.

Multiple European nations and the European Union (EU) on Monday voiced reluctance or outright opposition to U.S. President Donald Trump's call for a military mission to ensure safe shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.