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Stoltenberg: Finland and Sweden Could Join NATO Quickly

Flags are seen ahead of a NATO Defense Ministers meeting at the Alliance headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, October 21, 2021. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol
Flags are seen ahead of a NATO Defense Ministers meeting at the Alliance headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, October 21, 2021. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol
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Stoltenberg: Finland and Sweden Could Join NATO Quickly

Flags are seen ahead of a NATO Defense Ministers meeting at the Alliance headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, October 21, 2021. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol
Flags are seen ahead of a NATO Defense Ministers meeting at the Alliance headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, October 21, 2021. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol

Finland and Sweden will be able to join NATO quickly should they decide to ask for membership in the Western military alliance, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday.

"If they decide to apply, Finland and Sweden will be warmly welcomed and I expect the process to go quickly," Stoltenberg told reporters in Brussels, adding he planned to speak with the Finnish president later in the day.

According to Reuters, he said he was sure arrangements could be found for the interim period between an application by the two Scandinavian countries and the formal ratification in the parliaments of all 30 NATO members.

"I am confident that there are ways to bridge that interim period in a way which is good enough and works for both Finland and Sweden," Stoltenberg said.

Russia, with which Finland shares a 1,300-km (border, has said it will deploy nuclear weapons and hypersonic missiles in its Baltic enclave of Kaliningrad if Finland and Sweden decide to join NATO.

Finland and Sweden must prepare for increased Russian spy operations, cyber attacks and attempts to influence lawmakers as they consider joining NATO after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, the Nordic nations' intelligence chiefs said on Wednesday.

Russia's invasion, which it calls a "special operation", has forced Sweden and Finland to reassess their longstanding military neutrality, and they are expected to announce in May whether they will join the alliance.

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Iran Uncovers Rigged Device in Nuclear Program, Similar to Pager Attack

A billboard with a picture of late Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, late senior Iranian military commander General Qassem Soleimani, late Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and late Hamas leader Yahya Al-Sinwar is seen on a street in Tehran, Iran, January 16, 2025. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
A billboard with a picture of late Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, late senior Iranian military commander General Qassem Soleimani, late Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and late Hamas leader Yahya Al-Sinwar is seen on a street in Tehran, Iran, January 16, 2025. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
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Iran Uncovers Rigged Device in Nuclear Program, Similar to Pager Attack

A billboard with a picture of late Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, late senior Iranian military commander General Qassem Soleimani, late Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and late Hamas leader Yahya Al-Sinwar is seen on a street in Tehran, Iran, January 16, 2025. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
A billboard with a picture of late Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, late senior Iranian military commander General Qassem Soleimani, late Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and late Hamas leader Yahya Al-Sinwar is seen on a street in Tehran, Iran, January 16, 2025. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS

Iran’s Vice President for Strategic Affairs, Mohammad Javad Zarif, revealed that a sabotage attempt targeting the country's uranium enrichment program had been thwarted.

The plot involved a rigged component meant for the country’s centrifuges, which was acquired through intermediaries assisting Iran in evading sanctions.

In a televised interview streamed exclusively online, Zarif cautioned that Iran is facing growing security challenges in acquiring spare parts due to US sanctions.

“Our colleagues had purchased a centrifuge platform for the Atomic Energy Organization, and it was discovered that explosives had been embedded inside it, which they managed to detect," he told the Hozour (Presence) online program.

It was not clear when the alleged incident occurred.

On September 17, thousands of pagers used by Hezbollah members exploded simultaneously in Beirut’s southern suburbs and its other strongholds. Iranian Ambassador to Lebanon Mojtaba Amani was among the injured.

The attack, followed by a second bombing the next day targeting walkie-talkies, killed 39 people and injured over 3,400.

“The issue with the pagers in Lebanon turned out to be a multi-year process, meticulously orchestrated by the Zionists (Israelis),” said Zarif.

Following the pager explosions, Iranian officials and lawmakers warned of potential Israeli infiltrations similar to the attacks. As a precaution, the communication devices used by Iranian officials underwent security reviews.

This is not the first time Iran has raised concerns over potential infiltration through spare parts. In late August 2023, Iranian state television reported the thwarting of an Israeli "plot" to sabotage its ballistic missile and drone programs using faulty spare parts acquired from a foreign supplier.

Authorities stated the parts could have caused explosions or malfunctions in Iranian missiles before launch.

The Israeli intelligence agency Mossad was accused of orchestrating the shipment of defective parts and electronic chips used in missiles and drones.

A defense ministry official confirmed that a “network of agents” had attempted to introduce the rigged components.

In April 2021, an explosion at Iran’s Natanz uranium enrichment facility, which housed hundreds of centrifuges, was blamed on Israel’s Mossad.

Alireza Zakani, then a member of parliament and now Tehran's mayor, said the blast was caused by “300 pounds of explosives planted in equipment sent abroad for repairs.”

The explosion destroyed the electrical distribution system 50 meters underground.