Name: Sweden defense chief reacts to Trump slamming NATO allies amid Iran war
Uploaded: 2026-03-26T23:01:53.000Z
Duration: 9 min 4 s
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As the war with Iran nears the one-month mark, the patience of some of America's allies is wearing thin, with some European leaders calling for an end to the war, including Spain's Prime Minister, who earlier today said, quote, "It is not fair that some people are setting the world ablaze whilst the rest of us are left to swallow the ashes." Meanwhile, France's army chief called the USA, quote, "an unpredictable ally," and said the US's actions are impacting France's security.

That's in contrast to the message we heard from the NATO Secretary General this weekend.

I know there is a lot of debate in the US and in Europe whether this, um, campaign of the president, uh, against Iran was necessary.

It is crucial that the president, that the US is doing this.

Joining me now is Sweden's Chief of Defense and Supreme Commander of the Swedish Armed Forces, Michael Claessen.

Thank you for having me on, on the program.

Well, we really appreciate your being here.

I want to start off by getting your big-picture view of the war with Iran.

President Trump has argued that Iran did pose an imminent threat, quite frankly, to global security.

Do you believe that Iran posed an imminent threat?

I think that Iran definitely poses a, a, a threat, uh, to, uh, to, uh, the global community.

And, and, uh, we all know about the, uh, the axis between Russia and in Iran and, uh, Russia, Iran, and

North Korea, for example, uh, which definitely poses a threat to global security.

Uh, in what order to address that, it's not my, my thing to decide, of course, but, uh, it's just a fact that, that this axis exists.

Part of the president's justification for the war and I'll just quote for you a little bit of what he says, is that Iran was developing weapons that could, quote, "target our very good friends and allies in Europe as well as US troops overseas." Did Sweden have that perspective, that Iran could potentially target it?

we have seen some, some evidence in the last couple of weeks that they actually have the capability, to what extent, and, and, uh, with what sustainability you can always discuss, but, uh, that they definitely have these long-range capabilities and, and, uh, po opens up a new vector, so to speak, uh, against also, uh, targets in, in Europe.

That's, uh, more or less a, a, a fact, too, I, I would say.

but again, I mean, we have been very focused on Russia and are still very focused on Russia.

So in that regard, of course, again, going back to the, uh, the axis between those countries.

Well, and, and I do want to ask you about Russia in just a moment.

There's been a lot of talk about whether there can be diplomatic discussions.

President Trump says that the US is talking to Iran.

Uh, we have reporting that the US has, in fact, submitted a 15-point plan.

Do you think diplomacy is possible, and do you think it's possible in this moment?

Well, um, to be honest, I think that, that diplomacy always must play a role simultaneously with military action.

Uh, it's, it's, uh, from my perspective, it's never either/or.

Uh, the main effort can be on one or the other, uh, aspect, of course, but,

I spoke with President Trump a couple of weeks ago,

and he said that he was reaching out to NATO allies asking for your help to secure and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

He's expressed frustration in the wake of that, that more allies have not come forward.

Does Sweden have any intention to play a role in reopening the strait?

Well, uh, we are open for, for anything that, that could, uh, contribute to a, uh, de-escalation, uh, a de-escalation, and, uh, also going back to sort of the, uh, uh, uh, free movement, freedom of navigation, uh, through international straits, including the Hormuz.

So I guess that, that if, if there are any approaches made through the NATO system or bilaterally, uh, we would be open to, uh, to discuss that.

So you would be open to potentially help,

but Sweden hasn't made any commitments at this point in time?

I want to just get your broad reaction to what we've heard from President Trump recently about NATO.

He's called NATO a paper tiger, quote, "cowards," and I want to play you a little bit of what we've heard from him.

In case of, uh, NATO, they don't want to help us defend the strait,

NATO could help us, but they so far haven't had the courage to do so.

What is your reaction when President Trump makes these comments about NATO?

Uh, well, I think that, uh, to start with, I can only speak from a Swedish military perspective and,

and certainly not comment on, on, uh, uh, foreign, uh, political leaders' comments commentary on, on, on the alliance or anything else, basically.

I can I can assure any, anyone that wants to listen that, that, well, Sweden and Swedes are no cowards, uh,

and we have proven that in international operations over decades, uh, also together with NATO and together with our American allies, uh, shoulder to shoulder.

Do you think those comments impact European leaders?

Uh, well, it in, in many ways, of course, uh, it, it does, but, uh, it also makes us think twice, um, uh, to what extent we, we actually are, um, uh, in need of, of focusing on more, more aspects and more threats than only, uh, sort of the ones that directly affect us, which is very often, again, uh, only Russia.

Let me ask you, because Spain's Prime Minister earlier today and we were talking about Russia, your focus on Russia, claimed that Russia has made €8 billion, which is some $9 billion, from increased energy prices since the start of the war.

Do you believe that Russia is benefiting right now from this war?

In, indeed, of course, they, they, they do.

They already run a sort of a wartime economy.

Uh, they have increased their production capacity with regard to, um, missiles and, and

and this will be an injection of energy into, uh, to their war economy.

You are very focused on the war in Ukraine as well, trying to bring that conflict to an end.

How does the war in Iran impact the efforts to try to bring the war in Ukraine to an end, do you think?

I think one, one concern that we all share in the in the military community globally, uh, or, uh, at least in the West, is, of course, security of supply.

Uh, we know that, that, um, we need the same type of, of weapon systems up and running for deterring Russia in Europe, uh, and

Uh, we know that we need the same type of weapon systems to continue to support Ukraine, uh, to, uh, underpin their, uh, ability to defend themselves.

And of course, um, the, the war and the operations in the in the Middle East requires, uh, even more.

So all this together needs, uh, a balancing and, and

needs, uh, to be weighed against the production capacity of the defense industrial base, uh, in, in the West.

and then there's also the space to actually try to have global leaders work towards bringing an end to the war in Ukraine.

Do you have concerns that the focus has shifted to Iran and that that could potentially prolong the war in Ukraine?

politically, and, and, uh, if I may say that also in this context, that, that media of very often has, has focused on one thing at a time.

Uh, so obviously it takes focus away from Ukraine, um, um, and, and, uh, this is something that we need to keep in mind.

and focus on which countries, which axes are actually playing, um, uh, the strategic play, um, simultaneously.

What do you want the world to know about Ukraine and what's happening there right now?

I had the chance to, to travel 3,000 kilometers.

I don't know how much that is in miles, but, but 3,000 kilometers by car throughout Ukraine.

I met with, uh, several maybe tens and twenties, uh, of, of, of military leaders.

But the most important thing was to get, uh, uh, my own perception of, of the atmospherics in the country.

And my main conclusion is it's not a broken country.

Uh, they are tired for obvious reasons, but it's not a broken country.

So we need to maintain focus on, on more than one problem.