Nato’s secretary-general refused to push back against Donald Trump after the US president described the alliance as a “paper tiger” made up of “cowards”. Trump lashed out at the defensive organisation over the weekend for refusing to support for his ongoing attacks on Iran. But, when asked for his response to Trump’s attack, Mark Rutte seemed to offer little rebuttal – and even justified the US’s controversial decision not to warn their allies about the initial strikes on Tehran ahead of time. He told CBS’s Face The Nation: “I’ve been in several conversations this week with the president and the good news is that, look, we had the US for weeks planning for Epic Fury. “For reasons of security and safety, they could not share with European allies and allies around the world and partner countries, because that would have jeopardised the effect of the first attack.” He claimed: “It’s only logical that European countries take a couple of weeks to come together. “Since Thursday, 22 countries – most of them Nato but also Japan, …