Latest NATO leaders agree on spending hike vow to defend each other

     The Hague, Jun 25 (AP) NATO leaders agreed on Wednesday on a massive hike in defence spending after pressure from US President Donald Trump, and expressed their “ironclad commitment” to come to each other's aid if attacked.      The 32 leaders endorsed a final summit statement saying: “Allies commit to invest 5 per cent of GDP annually on core defence requirements as well as defence- and security-related spending by 2035 to ensure our individual and collective obligations.”
    Here is the latest:
    
     Trump says Vladimir Putin wants to settle war in Ukraine
     “He'd like to get out of this thing. It's a mess for him,” Trump said of the Russian president. “He called the other day, and he said, Can I help you with Iran?' I said no, you can help me with Russia.'”
    
     Trump is heaping praise on NATO, saying most of its leaders 'love' the US     The president said he came to the NATO summit as a political chore, but is leaving convinced that the assembled leaders love the alliance, their own countries and, mostly importantly, the United States.
    “I came here because it was something I was supposed to be doing. But I left here a little bit different,” Trump said.
     He called NATO leaders a “nice group of people” and said “almost every one of them said thank God for the United States.'”
     Trump praised most member countries for agreeing to increase defence spending, adding: “They need the United States and without the United States it's not going to be the same.”
    
     Trump defends allowing Iran to sell oil to China amid pause in fighting with Israel
     Trump characterised the gesture as an indication that the US might be willing to let bygone be bygones with Iran.
     Asked if doing so could reduce economic pressure on Iran at a delicate time, Trump responded: “They're going to need money to put that country back into shape. We want to see that happen.”
     He harkened back to the US-led war in Iraq, before the start of his political career, and said, “I used to say with Iraq, 'Keep the oil.' I could say it here too.”
     The statement was surprising given Trump's harsh rhetoric against Iran recently, including his insistence that Iran can't have a nuclear weapon.
    
     Trump says US will talk with Iran next week
     “I'll tell you what, we're going to talk with them next week, with Iran. We may sign an agreement, I don't know,” Trump said.
     It was a surprise disclosure about the possibility of restarting dialogue between Tehran and Washington.
    
     Trump says 'I'm not' interested in restarting talks with Iran
     “The way I look at it, they fought, the war is done,” he said.
    “I don't care if I have an agreement or not” because “we destroyed the nuclear,” deflating Iran's atomic ambitions.
    “They're not going to be doing it anyway,” Trump said. “They've had it.”
    
     Trump suggests he may support renaming the Secretary of Defence back to the Secretary of War
     In comments at the press conference, Trump said he, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other top US officials felt like their work during the conflict in Iran made them warriors.
    Referring to Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, Trump said, “Should we say secretary of war?”
    The president noted that the Cabinet position was originally known as the Secretary of War. “Maybe, for a few weeks, we'll call it that because we feel like warriors,” he said, while acknowledging that the original name might not be politically correct.
    
     Trump says he's confident Israel-Iran war is over
     Trump said the US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities brought the conflict to a close. He's been calling it the “12 day war,” suggesting a definitive end to the conflict.
    “I think they're very much finished,” he said of Israel and Iran. “They're both tired, exhausted.”

     Trump says US base in Qatar targeted by Iran had been nearly totally emptied out before that attack began
     Trump says nearly all military personnel was moved off a US military base before Iran targeted it with multiple missile strikes earlier this week. No casualties had previously been reported during Iran's Monday attack on Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
     Trump said Wednesday during his post-NATO summit press conference that “everyone was emptied off the base” except “the gunners.”
     Iran targeted the Al Udeid base in retaliation for the US bombing three of its nuclear facilities last weekend.
    
     Trump continues to defend impact of US strikes on Iran
     The president used his NATO press conference to press his claims that he had delivered a devastating blow to Iran's nuclear program. It was a lengthy digression from the summit's focus on European security.
    “The site has been demolished,” he said.
    “We had these brave patriots, these incredible fliers,” Trump said about US pilots who led the attack with US stealth bombers. “The shots were hit perfectly.”
    
     Trump says increased NATO spending will help prevent future conflicts like Ukraine
     “Europe stepping up to take more responsibility for security will help prevent future disasters like the horrible situation with Russia and Ukraine,” Trump told reporters at his summit-ending news conference. “And hopefully we're going to get that solved.”
    
     Trump's post-NATO summit press conference is underway
     Trump's press conference after the NATO summit has begun.
    The president used his opening remarks to praise the “massive precision strike on Iran” that he ordered, and again declared that Iran's nuclear program had been “obliterated” despite early US intelligence assessments questioning that.
    “We call it the 12-day war” Trump said of the conflict between Iran and Israel, and he said the US considers the hostilities concluded.
    
     Trump and Zelenskyy huddled for about 50 minutes
     “We covered all the truly important issues,” Zelenskyy posted on social media following the leaders' talks. “I thank Mr. President, I thank the United States. We discussed how to achieve a ceasefire and a real peace. We spoke about how to protect our people. We appreciate the attention and the readiness to help bring peace closer.”
     It was the first face-to-face talks between the US and Ukrainian leaders since April, when they huddled at St. Peter's Basilica during Pope Francis' funeral.
    
     Macron abruptly declines to comment on Trump's views: 'Ask him the question!'
     The French President appeared annoyed at repeated questions about Trump's views at the NATO summit.
    “I'm not the President of the United States of America,” Macron told reporters. “Ask him the question.”
     Macron's unusual irritation notably comes after Trump said whether he'll commit to NATO mutual defence guarantee “depends on your definition.”
    “It's very simple, my job is not to interpret his comments,” Macron said. “What I'm saying is that this solidarity (between allies) does exist, it's in our texts.”
    Also asked whether he's worried that Europe's security relies on decisions from the US president, Macron said: “That's not the case. I'm telling it to you, for France, which has a full, well-equipped army with the (nuclear) dissuasion, that's not the case. We don't rely on others.”
    
     Germany's leader renews appeal to Trump to tighten sanctions against Russia
     Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Wednesday that while meeting with Trump on the sidelines of the NATO summit he “encouraged” the US president to get behind a sanctions bill in the US Senate, and that it seems that Trump “is considering intensively what he can do.'
     Merz noted that European Union leaders plan to agree on more sanctions of their own at a summit Thursday. But he said that “this alone will not be enough; we also need stronger participation by the United States of America in such sanctions.”
    
     NATO summit brings together Dutch Donald Trump' and real Donald Trump     The Dutch lawmaker Geert Wilders chatted with the US president on the sidelines of the NATO summit, where world leaders had just agreed on a massive hike in defense spending after pressure from Trump. Like Trump, Wilders has similar anti-immigration, pro-Israel policies and a love for fiery rhetoric and frequent social media use.
    In a post on X, Wilders thanked Trump for the “excellent meeting.” Wilders says the two talked about the need for tougher immigration rules.
    Wilders took home a big win in the last Dutch election. But he pulled the plug last month on the four-party coalition formed in the wake of the 2023 vote following a dispute over migration after governing for just 11 months.
    Despite his anti-Islam Party for Freedom taking the largest share of seats in parliament, Wilders was too unpalatable even for his coalition partners to helm the government. The top job went to civil servant Dick Schoof instead.
    
     JD Vance flips his middle finger, Trump drops an f-bomb
     During a Republican fundraiser in Lima, Ohio, on Tuesday night, the vice president flipped his middle finger toward the crowd as he jokingly commiserated about the difficulties of being a modern political candidate. He said making the vulgar gesture is common in the nation's capital.
    “All the pink-haired people throw up this sign,” he said, to laughter. “And I think that means 'We're Number One,' right? I choose to take that as that symbol in Washington.”
    Vance said he was kidding, but the joke happened to come on the same day that Trump used the f-word for real. Trump was describing his frustration with both Israel and Iran appearing to have broken the terms of a ceasefire.
(AP)        
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(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)