THE HAGUE, Netherlands—President Donald Trump left the White House on Tuesday for the NATO summit in the Netherlands after condemning both Iran and Israel for undermining his peace efforts.
“These guys [have] got to calm down. Ridiculous,” Trump told reporters before his departure.
“I didn’t like plenty of things I saw yesterday. I didn’t like the fact that Israel unloaded right after we made the deal. They didn’t have to unload, and I didn’t like the fact that the retaliation was very strong.”
Last night, Trump announced that a cease-fire between Iran and Israel was officially in effect, urging both parties not to violate it.
“The ceasefire is now in effect. Please do not violate it!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Both sides exchanged heavy fire overnight.
Israel accused Iran of violating the cease-fire, hours after agreeing to the deal. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced this morning that Iran had “completely violated” the cease-fire, and vowed retaliation.
Iran on Tuesday denied violating the cease-fire. State-run Tasnim News Agency reported that the General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces denied claims by Israeli media that Iran had fired missiles at Israel.
While acknowledging Iran’s violation of the cease-fire, Trump expressed frustration with Israel’s response this morning.
“In all fairness, Israel unloaded a lot. And now I hear Israel just went out because they felt it was violated by one rocket that didn’t land anywhere. That’s not what we want,” Trump told reporters.
“They came out and they dropped a load of bombs, the likes of which I’ve never seen before, the biggest load that we’ve seen. I’m not happy with Israel.”
Trump earlier expressed his frustration on Truth Social, warning Tel Aviv not to drop bombs on Iran.
“Israel. Do not drop those bombs. If you do it is a major violation. Bring your pilots home, now!” Trump wrote in all caps.
Trump is set to arrive in The Hague on Tuesday for a NATO summit, where he aims to secure defense spending commitments from allied nations.
This year’s summit is expected to unveil an ambitious new target: raising defense spending to 5 percent of each member nation’s GDP, more than double the current 2 percent benchmark.
“The president intends to secure a historic 5 percent defense spending pledge from NATO allies, which will strengthen the alliance’s combined military capabilities and ensure greater stability in Europe and the world,” a senior U.S. official told reporters during a call last week.
Trump will push allies at the upcoming summit to boost industrial capacities to create “supply chains capable of producing the critical minerals, infrastructure, weapons, and other products necessary for the security of America and her allies,” the official said.
Trump’s whirlwind 24-hour visit to the Netherlands comes against a backdrop of growing instability in the Middle East. The Iran–Israel conflict entered its 12th day on Tuesday. The United States launched airstrikes over the weekend on three Iranian nuclear sites to disrupt Tehran’s alleged nuclear ambitions. Since then, Trump has called on both sides to agree to a cease-fire.
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