NATO's deputy chief says Iran helping Russian 'threat to European security'

BRUSSELS —  NATO is increasingly concerned about Iran's "destabilizing actions" in the Middle East as well as its relations with an axis that includes Russia, North Korea and China, the defense bloc's Deputy Secretary-General Mircea Geoana said.

In an interview with Al-Monitor ahead of NATO’s summit in Washington, which is set for July 9, Geoana described Iranian help to Russia — in the form of drones and military equipment in Ukraine — as a "threat to European security," sharing concern with Israel. He also said that the Abraham Accords, a series of normalization agreements signed in 2020 between Israel and Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco and Sudan, should serve as a blueprint for greater stability in the region. 

Romania-born Geoana was appointed NATO deputy secretary-general in October 2019 after a long career as a diplomat and politician in his country. He served as Romania’s foreign minister between 2000 and 2004 and as president of the Senate in Bucharest between 2008 and 2011. Among other responsibilities, Geoana is now leading the development of NATO’s Southern Neighborhoods policy, which is focused on strengthening ties between the transatlantic alliance and the Middle East, North Africa and the Sahel. 

At last summer's NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, the alliance began evaluating its relationship with the Southern Neighborhoods. Recommendations made by an external group of experts handed over to Geoana at the end of May, will be presented to the member states at the summit in Washington. For Geoana, the summit will offer an opportunity to explore how NATO engages with these regions.