BUCHAREST, March 30. /TASS/. There's no reason to believe that Iran is planning to open a front against NATO or provoke the bloc’s members in any way, Romanian Defense Minister Radu Miruta said.

"Iran has no intention of provoking NATO. They are in a state of armed confrontation with the US and Israel, which also involves the Arab countries of the region, but there is no indication that they are planning to open a front with NATO," he told the Antena 3 broadcaster.

The minister added that he considered the likelihood of an Iranian strike on Romania as low. Miruta also believes that the US has been so far unable to achieve all goals of its Iran operation.

Romanian President Nicusor Dan announced on March 20 that Bucharest would join a statement issued by the UK, Italy, the Netherlands, France, Germany and Japan, which concerned the need to ensure freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz. He attributed the decision to the tough impact that the closure of the strait had had on global energy markets. Romanian Defense Minister Radu Miruta stated later that Bucharest could take part in an operation to ensure freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, deploying staff officers and demining experts or sharing intelligence.

The United States and Israel launched a military operation against Iran on February 28. Major Iranian cities, including Tehran, were struck. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced a retaliatory operation, targeting sites in Israel. US military bases in Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE were also hit.

Iran’s authorities also decided to close the Strait of Hormuze to ships associated with the US, Israel and the countries that supported aggression against Tehran. Since the start of the conflict, a number of tankers have been attacked for trying to pass through the waterway without Iran’s permission. On March 25, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Arachchi announced that the country was allowing passage through the Strait of Hormuz to vessels from friendly countries, including Russia, India, Iraq, China and Pakistan.