President Donald Trump departed for the NATO summit in The Hague on Tuesday morning, just hours after declaring that Israel and Iran had reached a ceasefire agreement brokered by his administration.
But the fragile truce quickly began to unravel, casting a shadow over the summit and complicating Trump’s efforts to present recent military actions as both decisive and stabilizing.
As Air Force One lifted off for the Netherlands, Trump acknowledged that both Israel and Iran had already violated the ceasefire terms, just hours after it was announced.
However, after a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the president stated that Israel would refrain from further bombing and that the ceasefire was “in effect.”
The announcement came after the U.S. launched airstrikes over the weekend on three Iranian nuclear sites — Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan — in a direct escalation of hostilities.
While Iran responded with a missile attack on a U.S. base in Qatar, most of the missiles were intercepted, and no casualties were reported. Trump dismissed the Iranian retaliation as “very weak” and even thanked Tehran for giving the U.S. early warning.
Trump Seeks NATO Commitment to 5% Defense Spending
Trump arrived at the summit with a key objective: pressuring NATO allies to commit to spending at least 5% of their GDP on defense.
The current U.S. defense spending sits around 3.4%, but Trump has long complained that America foots a disproportionate share of NATO’s defense burden.
“We’ve been supporting NATO so long, in many cases, I believe, paying almost 100% of the cost,” Trump told reporters last week. “So, I don’t think we should [hit 5%], but I think that the NATO countries should, absolutely.”
In a pre-summit win for Trump, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte reportedly sent the president a congratulatory note, praising his “decisive action in Iran” and confirming that all NATO members had signed onto the 5% goal — though with no firm timeline. A NATO spokesperson verified the authenticity of the message.
“It was not easy, but we’ve got them all signed onto 5 percent!” Rutte wrote. “You will achieve something NO American president in decades could get done.”
Summit Agenda Still Focused on Russia and Ukraine
While the Iran-Israel ceasefire and U.S. airstrikes are top of mind, the ongoing war in Ukraine remains a central concern at the summit. NATO members continue to debate how forcefully to characterize Russia as the alliance’s primary threat.
Asked whether the U.S. would support strong language against Russia in the final communique, U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker declined to answer directly, citing ongoing negotiations.
“I fully expect that the summit statement will be direct, to the point, and reflect the Allies’ current threat assessment,” he said.
Whitaker added that the U.S. is encouraging both restraint and direct talks between Russia and Ukraine, but Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, who is attending the summit with a bipartisan group of senators, took a firmer stance.
“I think we need to put a lot more pressure on Russia and Vladimir Putin,” she said, urging passage of a Senate sanctions bill with 82 co-sponsors.
Trump Looks to Capitalize on Foreign Policy Momentum
The summit — condensed to a single two-and-a-half-hour session — is expected to include side meetings between Trump and several world leaders.
A senior U.S. official confirmed that these bilateral discussions would focus on defense, energy, and regional threats.
With the Iran ceasefire barely holding and the war in Ukraine grinding on, Trump’s goal at NATO is clear: consolidate his position as a global power broker while demanding more investment from allies.
The president’s team is also leveraging the moment to highlight Trump’s leadership on defense and diplomacy. His aides believe the 5% NATO spending commitment — even if long-term and unenforceable — offers a major political and strategic win heading into the second half of his term.
This year’s summit comes at a time of historic growth for NATO, with Sweden and Finland having joined the alliance in 2024 and 2023, respectively. NATO now includes 32 member states and continues to serve as the cornerstone of Western military cooperation.
