NATO's Longtime Chief Hands over to Former Dutch Premier Mark Rutte

 Jens Stoltenberg reacts as the new NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte uses a hammer at a meeting of the North Atlantic Council, at the Alliance headquarters in Brussels, Belgium October 1, 2024. (Reuters)
Jens Stoltenberg reacts as the new NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte uses a hammer at a meeting of the North Atlantic Council, at the Alliance headquarters in Brussels, Belgium October 1, 2024. (Reuters)
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NATO's Longtime Chief Hands over to Former Dutch Premier Mark Rutte

 Jens Stoltenberg reacts as the new NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte uses a hammer at a meeting of the North Atlantic Council, at the Alliance headquarters in Brussels, Belgium October 1, 2024. (Reuters)
Jens Stoltenberg reacts as the new NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte uses a hammer at a meeting of the North Atlantic Council, at the Alliance headquarters in Brussels, Belgium October 1, 2024. (Reuters)

One of NATO’s longest serving top officials, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, stepped down on Tuesday, handing over the reins to former Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte as the military alliance confronts some of the biggest challenges in its history.

The two men, who first sat together at NATO's table 14 years ago as the leaders of Norway and the Netherlands, greeted each other warmly outside the alliance's Brussels headquarters, before laying a wreath to fallen military personnel, surrounded by the flags of the 32 member countries.

"Mark has the perfect background to become a great secretary general," a visibly emotional Stoltenberg said as he ended a decade in office.

"He has served as prime minister for 14 years and led four different coalition governments, so therefore he knows how to make compromises, create consensus, and these are skills which are very much valued here at NATO," Stoltenberg said.

Rutte said that he "cannot wait to get to work." He said his priorities would be NATO's support for Ukraine, with the war now in its third year, increasing defense spending and strengthening partnerships that the alliance has established with other countries around the world, notably in Asia and the Middle East.

Rutte also underlined the importance of keeping the trans-Atlantic bond between the United States, Canada and Europe strong, and expressed confidence that he can work well with whoever is elected to the White House.

Surveys suggest the US election in November will be a close race. It could see the return of Donald Trump, whose bluster during his last term of office about low defense spending among European allies and Canada undermined trust of NATO member countries.

It became an existential challenge, as smaller members feared that the US under Trump would renege on NATO’s security pledge that all countries must to come to the rescue of any ally in trouble, the foundation stone the alliance is built on.

But Rutte said: "I know both candidates very well." He praised Trump for pushing NATO allies to spend more and for toughening their approach toward China. He also hailed the "fantastic record" of Vice President Kamala Harris and described her as "a highly respected leader."

"I will be able to work with both. Whatever is the outcome of the election," Rutte said.

Stoltenberg, NATO’s 13th secretary-general, took over in 2014, the year that "little green men" from Russia infiltrated Ukraine. Moscow annexed the Crimean Peninsula, sparking a defense spending buildup at the world’s biggest security alliance that gathered pace over his term.

His tenure was surpassed only by Dutch diplomat Joseph Luns, who spent 12 years in charge of NATO.

NATO secretaries-general run the HQ, drive the alliance's working agenda and speak on behalf of the 32-nation organization with one unifying voice. Continuity is usually the key word when they take up office.

Rutte becomes NATO’s top civilian official as Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine approaches the 1,000-day mark.

Russian forces are making advances in eastern Ukraine. Ukraine’s army has a shaky hold on part of the Kursk region in Russia, which has provided a temporary morale boost, but as casualties mount it remains outmanned and outgunned.

Rutte will have to find new ways to encourage support for Ukraine among the allies, whose ranks have swelled to 32 countries since the invasion as Finland and Sweden joined to seek protection from Russia under NATO's security umbrella.

Trump has been critical of US aid to Ukraine, and he suggested last week that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy should have made concessions to Russian leader Vladimir Putin before he launched his invasion in 2022.



Official: US Warns Iran to Stop Plotting Against Trump

OAKS, PENNSYLVANIA - OCTOBER 14: Republican presidential nominee, former President Donald Trump, holds a town hall at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center on October 14, 2024 in Oaks, Pennsylvania. Spencer Platt/Getty Images/AFP
OAKS, PENNSYLVANIA - OCTOBER 14: Republican presidential nominee, former President Donald Trump, holds a town hall at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center on October 14, 2024 in Oaks, Pennsylvania. Spencer Platt/Getty Images/AFP
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Official: US Warns Iran to Stop Plotting Against Trump

OAKS, PENNSYLVANIA - OCTOBER 14: Republican presidential nominee, former President Donald Trump, holds a town hall at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center on October 14, 2024 in Oaks, Pennsylvania. Spencer Platt/Getty Images/AFP
OAKS, PENNSYLVANIA - OCTOBER 14: Republican presidential nominee, former President Donald Trump, holds a town hall at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center on October 14, 2024 in Oaks, Pennsylvania. Spencer Platt/Getty Images/AFP

The United States has warned the Iranian government to stop all plotting against Republican Donald Trump and said that Washington would view any attempt on his life as an act of war, a US official said on Monday.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said US President Joe Biden has been briefed regularly on the threats and directed his team to address Iranian plots against Americans.

At Biden's direction, top US officials have sent messages to the highest levels of the Iranian government warning Tehran to cease all plotting against Trump and former US officials, Reuters quoted the official as saying.

The Iranians have been told that Washington would view it as an act of war if any attempt was carried out against Trump's life, the official said.

Trump, a Republican, is seeking a return to the White House after losing the 2020 election to Biden.

His campaign said on Sept. 24 that Trump was briefed by US intelligence officials on the alleged threat from Iran.

The White House said the United States has been closely tracking Iranian threats against Trump for years and it warned of "severe consequences" if Tehran was to attack any US citizen.

"We consider this a national and homeland security matter of the highest priority, and we strongly condemn Iran for these brazen threats. Should Iran attack any of our citizens, including those who continue to serve the United States or those who formerly served, Iran will face severe consequences," said White House National Security Council spokesperson Sean Savett.

He said "appropriate agencies are continuously and promptly providing the former president’s security detail with evolving threat information."

"Additionally, President Biden has reiterated his directive that the United States Secret Service should receive every resource, capability, and protective measure required to address those evolving threats to the former president," Savett said.