US: NATO Members Will Decide on Using Article 5 Against Iran
The White House says NATO members will decide on the possibility of invoking Article 5 of the NATO treaty against Iran. Article 5 of the treaty pertains to collective action against threats.
Karine Jean-Pierre, White House spokesperson, said on Wednesday, September 7, in response to whether there is a possibility of invoking Article 5 of the NATO treaty against Iran following cyberattacks by the Islamic Republic against Albania that led to Tirana’s severance of diplomatic ties with Tehran, that this matter requires “multiple processes.”
She added that NATO member countries’ decision on invoking this article and taking collective action by NATO members against Iran will be up to each individual member state.
Article 5 of the NATO founding treaty states: “The parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all.”
Based on this article, if one of the alliance members is attacked, NATO must “take such action as it deems necessary, including the use of armed force, to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic area.”
The use of this article is likely because Albania has been a NATO member since 2009.
The United States, meanwhile, warned of “further actions” against the Islamic Republic and condemned what it called an “unprecedented” cyberattack against Albania as a US ally.
Alongside global reactions, Adrian Watson, spokesperson for the National Security Council, stated in a statement that Iran should be “accountable” for this cyberattack that resulted in “disrupting public services and hacking data and electronic communications of Albanian government systems.”
According to him, “The United States will take further action to hold Iran accountable, which through its actions has threatened the security of America’s allies and caused disruption in cyberspace.”
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama has accused Iran of conducting a cyberattack on Albanian institutions on July 15 that resulted in “disrupting public services and hacking data and electronic communications from government systems.”
Albania, in response to this action, which also drew international condemnation, severed its diplomatic relations with Iran.
These events are occurring at a time when the United States and European powers are working to rescue the JCPOA agreement.
Despite widespread international criticism, Iran’s Foreign Ministry rejected the allegations of cyberattacks on Albania, calling them “baseless claims” and describing the country’s decision to sever ties with Tehran as “an ill-considered action lacking foresight in international relations.”
Albanian-Iranian relations have deteriorated for years due to Tirana’s hosting of the People’s Mujahedin Organization group. After the deployment of members and supporters of this group in Iraqi territory until several years after the overthrow of Saddam Hussein’s regime, based on an agreement between the United States and the Iraqi government, the organization’s forces were transferred to Albania.
Source: Radio Farda
