According to the Financial Times, comments by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte backing US President Donald Trump’s policy on Iran have triggered discontent in several European countries.

The newspaper says Rutte’s suggestion that Europe could take part in an operation in the Strait of Hormuz caused particular irritation. Diplomats told the paper that the idea left some EU states in an awkward position, as they are not prepared to be drawn into another war.

Those concerns, according to the report, reflect a wider gap between Rutte’s stance and the position of most European capitals. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas had earlier said the conflict was not Europe’s war, a view also supported by representatives of Germany, Italy, and Spain. NATO, for its part, said the alliance is not involved in the war against Iran, though it is closely monitoring developments in the region.

On February 28, the United States and Israel launched a military operation against Iran, with strikes hitting the country’s largest cities. In response, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced the start of a large-scale retaliatory operation. Iranian forces then struck US targets in Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia.