'NATO allies stand behind US over Soleimani killing'

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Monday that all members of the Atlantic alliance stood behind the United States in the Middle East, after a US drone strike killed Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani.

Speaking after a rare NATO meeting on Iran and Iraq in which the United States briefed its allies about last Friday's drone strike, Stoltenberg also called for a de-escalation of tensions, echoing the statements of some European leaders.

"We are united in condemning Iran's support of a variety of different terrorist groups," Stoltenberg said. "At the meeting today, allies called for restraint and de-escalation. A new conflict would be in no one's interest. So Iran must refrain from further violence and provocations."