Here's the latest
• US strikes on Iran: The US has launched a “series of powerful strikes against Iran,” US Central Command said in a statement Tuesday. The Trump administration also reimposed sanctions on Iranian oil sales in retaliation for attacks on commercial ships near the critical waterway.
• Trump at NATO summit: Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump, who is in Turkey for the gathering of the military alliance, reiterated he would like the US to control Greenland, while acknowledging it would hurt his ties with NATO — an already rocky relationship.
• Turkey jet sales: In a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Trump said he would soon decide whether to sell F-35 fighter jets to Turkey, despite a congressional ban. In an interview with CNN, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would oppose the sales.
The US has launched strikes against Iran, CENTCOM says
The United States has begun striking Iran in retaliation for a series of attacks on commercial ships near the Strait of Hormuz, US Central Command announced moments ago.
“U.S. Central Command forces have begun launching a series of powerful strikes against Iran to impose heavy costs for targeting and attacking commercial shipping crewed by innocent civilians in an international waterway. The U.S. strikes are in response to Iranian attacks on three commercial vessels that were transiting the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s demonstrated aggression was unwarranted, dangerous, and a clear violation of the ceasefire,” it said on X.
Relations with Trump are "cordial," Italy's Meloni says
Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said Tuesday she has “cordial relations” with US President Donald Trump, in remarks that follow weeks of tensions between the two once-close leaders.
Meloni’s comments, to Italian reporters on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Turkey, follow a spat between the two in which Trump claimed she had “begged” him for a picture together at the G7 meeting in Evian, France. Meloni denied the story, and the episode led to Italy’s foreign minister canceling a scheduled trip to the United States.
Over the weekend, Trump further taunted the Italian leader by writing on social media that he needed a restraining order against her.
However, on Tuesday the US leader refered to Meloni as a “nice person,” saying that they had had a “good week” despite their relationship previously having become “a little bad” because she had refused to help with the Iran war.
Meloni, asked on Tuesday whether she had received clarification on Trump’s comments, told reporters that he had “already answered” the question, according to Italian news agency ANSA.
Netanyahu warns Trump over possible sale of F-35 jets: Turkey "not exactly a model ally"
Hours after US President Donald Trump said he’s considering selling F-35 stealth fighter jets to Turkey, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke against the potential move, even as he downplayed divisions between the two world leaders.
In an interview with CNN, Netanyahu warned that the sale of America’s most advanced fighter aircraft “doesn’t make Turkey a friendly state to the United States.” In part of an escalating dispute with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Netanyahu described Ankara as “a regime that’s infected with the Muslim Brotherhood, which hates the United States.”
“He’s not exactly a model ally of the United States,” Netanyahu told CNN’s Dana Bash. “He threatens to destroy my country, the one and only Jewish state.”
Here's how much NATO members are spending as a share of their GDP
US President Donald Trump has long urged NATO members to “pay their fair share” of defense spending.
The US spent an estimated $980 billion on defense in 2025 — nearly 62 percent of NATO’s total spending, and more than 10 times that of the UK, NATO’s second-biggest spender.
However, NATO allies are spending more in recent years. NATO asks its members to spend at least 2 percent of gross domestic product on defense, a threshold all members reached for the first time in 2025.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, many countries have increased budgets to meet the moment. Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia — all of which border Russia — each spend a larger share of GDP on defense than the US does, according to the alliance.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has stressed that Europe is now a stronger partner precisely because of this increased spending.
The US is the only NATO member to have actually decreased defense spending as a share of GDP over the past decade, from 3.5 percent in 2015 to 3.2 percent in 2025.
Further increases are expected: Last year, members pledged to reach 5 percent of GDP (3.5 percent on core military expenditures, 1.5 per cent on broader security) by 2035.
Trump arrives for dinner with NATO leaders, including those he's criticized
President Donald Trump is now attending a dinner for all the NATO leaders inside the Bestepe presidential compound in Ankara.
Trump arrived after a long string of leaders, each of whom was welcomed to the sound of a military marching band.
He again greeted Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warmly before they all walked inside.
This will be Trump’s first chance to interact with the other NATO leaders, including some he’s been highly critical of in recent months.
Among those seen arriving ahead of Trump: French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney — each of whom has come under criticism from Trump.
NATO chief touts “literally billions of dollars” worth of defense deals
NATO member countries are signing defense deals worth “literally billions of dollars” at the Ankara summit, the alliance’s secretary general, Mark Rutte, said today.
Speaking at the summit’s defense industry forum, the NATO chief said allies were unveiling “new major projects,” adding: “These are billions that are invested in our security, boosting our economies and supporting hundreds of thousands of new jobs. It’s money well spent.”
The deals announced include a plan for NATO to procure five “high-end, high-altitude and long-endurance uncrewed aircraft” from Northrop Grumman and 40 billion dollars’ worth of investment in “counter-drone capabilities over the next five years,” the alliance said in a statement.
The second initiative comes alongside a plan for NATO allies to “train five times as many drone operators by the end of 2027.”
“Drones have fundamentally altered the character of modern warfare and become a decisive factor on the battlefield,” the alliance said. “These initiatives will be essential to increase both Alliance readiness and resilience.”
Also announced was a plan to replace NATO’s aging fleet of E3 surveillance planes with up to 10 GlobalEye aircraft made by Swedish company SAAB, with some components and manufacturing from the US and Canada. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristerson called the initiative a “a moment of great pride for Sweden” in remarks alongside other alliance members.
Rutte spent much of the morning touting NATO’s “remarkable progress” in upping member countries’ defense spending, a notable point of contention with US President Donald Trump, who has often criticized the alliance.
NATO members need to keep "heads cool" with Trump, Finnish foreign minister says
Finland’s Foreign Affairs Minister Elina Valtonen spoke to CNN today in Ankara, Turkey, where this year’s NATO summit is being held.
When asked about US President Donald Trump’s complaints about some NATO countries not supporting the war with Iran or fulfilling a 5% defense spending pledge, Valtonen said that the US leader’s “frustration has been needed to truly force each and every ally to realize that this is for real.”
The 5% defense spending pledge “has been the Finnish position all along,” she continued. “I think it’s great that, as Europe, we have taken, as to say, the hard pill, and we are in the process of swallowing it.”
Finland is one of NATO’s newest member countries, having officially joined the alliance in 2023. Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine drove Helsinki to abandon its neutrality and seek protection within the organization, in a move that more than doubled NATO’s land border with Russia.
Valtonen said today that NATO members “need to be having our heads cool now at the moment,” after CNN’s Nic Robertson asked her about the way that NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte deals with Trump.
Watch more from the interview in the video above.
Here's a recap of what Trump and Erdoğan just spoke about in Ankara
US President Donald Trump said he would soon decide whether to sell Turkey F-35 fighter jets despite a congressional ban. The president also said he would lift sanctions on Turkey for its purchase of a Russian air defense system.
A short while ago, we heard from US President Donald Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who spoke to journalists in Ankara ahead of this year’s NATO summit.
Catch up on what the leaders said below:
- Trump said he would soon decide whether to sell F-35 fighter jets to Turkey despite a congressional ban, also praising the country as more loyal than other recipients of the plane.
- Meanwhile, Erdoğan indicated he believes a deal is close for Ankara to buy American F-35 fighter jets and US-made jet engines for Turkey’s flagship KAAN fighter jets, saying Turkey has “been promised five jets.”
- Trump reiterated that he would like his country to control Greenland, arguing the territory is strategically vital to American security while acknowledging that it “would hurt my relationship with NATO.”
- Trump declined to say whether he plans to announce additional US troop reductions in Europe, telling reporters: “We’re going to see.”
- He also expressed optimism over prospects for a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, despite saying that nothing has changed regarding the conflict.
- Trump called Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni a “nice person” despite suggesting in a post on Truth Social over the weekend that he needed a restraining order for her.
CNN’s Kevin Liptak, Alejandra Jaramillo, Aileen Graef and Ivana Kottasová contributed to this reporting.
Erdoğan says he expects good news on US sale of jets and engines to Turkey
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan today indicated he believes a deal is close for Ankara to buy American F-35 fighter jets and US-made jet engines for Turkey’s flagship KAAN fighter jets.
Speaking about the F-35s during his bilateral meeting with US President Donald Trump, Erdoğan said Turkey has “been promised five jets.”
“We believe that President Trump also has made a promise on this separately… and we are hoping that the news we have previously received is going to be productively tested towards the future,” the Turkish leader said.
“President Trump has always been a man of his word, and hopefully with respect to the F-35 we will have a fruitful outcome and a decision from this leaders summit,” he added.
Speaking about the US-made engines for Turkey’s KAAN jets, Erdoğan said he believed Trump “has given us some good news and I believe that he will repeat those good news again and I think with these good news, probably, I will be thanking him during this summit.”
Trump said he would soon decide whether to sell Turkey the jets despite a congressional ban. He also said he would lift sanctions imposed on Turkey over its purchase of a Russian air defense system.
Trump shows optimism about Russia-Ukraine peace deal, despite saying nothing has changed
US President Donald Trump expressed optimism over prospects for a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, despite also saying that nothing has changed regarding the conflict.
Speaking alongside Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Ankara, where this year’s NATO summit is being held, Trump said he had a “very good talk” with Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday, and that he also spoke to his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky.
“They (Putin and Zelensky) both wanna get it settled now… I think we’re going to get it settled. Hopefully soon,” he added.
When asked if anything had changed for him to have this opinion, including if Putin was open to any concessions, the US leader said: “Never changed.”
“I just don’t want them killing people,” Trump added, noting how many people are reportedly killed in the conflict every month.
He told reporters that he has seen pictures of battlefields in the conflict, saying “people wouldn’t believe how violent it is.”
“I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s carnage and it should stop,” he said.
Trump calls Italian PM Meloni a "nice person" despite his social media post
US President Donald Trump called Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni a “nice person” despite suggesting in a post on Truth Social over the weekend that he needed a restraining order.
“I think she’s a nice person, actually, we’ve had a good week. We had a bad relationship. It became a little bad because she refused to help us again,” Trump said during a bilateral meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Ankara.
US President Donald Trump says his relationship with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni "soured" over disagreements about Iran and that she "made a mistake." But he added that "I like her" and she's "a nice person."
“I think she’s a nice person, actually. But I think she made a mistake,” he said, referring to Italy’s refusal to help with the war in Iran.
Trump said he didn’t put a “heavy press” on her for help and when she refused to get Italy involved it “soured my relationship with her a little bit.”
Trump repeats Greenland "should be controlled by US,” but acknowledges it would hurt NATO ties
President Donald Trump reiterated on Tuesday that he would like the US to control Greenland, arguing the territory is strategically vital to American security.
But, he added, “that would hurt my relationship with NATO.”
During a bilateral meeting ahead of the NATO summit in Ankara, Trump went on to argue that Denmark has failed to adequately invest in Greenland and warned that the island’s location makes it increasingly important as China and Russia expand their presence in the Arctic.
“Greenland doesn’t help Denmark, Denmark doesn’t spend money to really help Greenland, but it’s an important part for the United States,” the president continued.
Greenland “should be controlled by the United States, not by Denmark,” he concluded.
Trump has previously refused to rule out military action to acquire Greenland, but he largely shifted to advocating a long-term framework agreement during the World Economic Forum in Davos earlier this year. Even so, administration officials have continued to leave open the possibility of more aggressive measures as they argue that Greenland is essential to US national security.
Why one country sent two competing delegations to the NATO summit
An obscure domestic political row bursted into the international arena on Tuesday when the Czech Republic dispatched two competing delegations to the NATO summit in Ankara.
First to land, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš and his entourage were welcomed in Ankara by Turkish Trade Minister Omer Bolat. Not long after that, a second Czech government aircraft touched down, bringing President Petr Pavel. He was greeted by Turkish Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy.
The Czech government did not explain why the two men couldn’t travel together, despite setting off from the same airport in Prague less than an hour apart.
Personal animosity likely played a major role. Pavel and Babiš have been locked in a dispute over the summit for months. Czech delegations to NATO have traditionally included both the country’s prime minister as the head of government and the president as the head of state.
But last month, Babiš banned Pavel from attending the summit, prompting Pavel to launch a lawsuit with the Czech Constitutional Court. The court issued an injunction, effectively ordering Babiš to allow Pavel to go.
Officially, the prime minister said he needed more “space” to negotiate and to explain why the Czech Republic is one of just three NATO countries not meeting the current defense spending targets.
But the two men have clashed over multiple issues, including the government’s decision to cut defense spending as well as Pavel’s refusal to appoint a controversial anti-establishment, right-wing politician into Babiš’s government.
By attempting to stop the president from attending the summit, Babiš was clearly trying to hit where it would hurt, as NATO has for years been Pavel’s home turf. A retired general, Pavel previously served as chair of NATO’s Military Committee, one of the alliance’s top positions.
Trump says "we're going to see" on possible US troop drawdowns in Europe
President Donald Trump declined Tuesday to say whether he plans to announce additional US troop reductions in Europe, telling reporters, “we’re going to see,” during a bilateral meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan ahead of the NATO summit in Ankara.
“Well, we’re going to see,” Trump said when asked whether he is likely to announce further drawdowns of US forces in Europe.
The US president also renewed his criticism of NATO, suggesting he had considered skipping the summit altogether.
Trump’s comments come amid ongoing questions about the future of the US military presence in Europe. Trump has privately discussed the possibility of cutting American troop levels on the continent by roughly one-third after expressing frustration that NATO allies declined to participate in US military operations against Iran, according to people familiar with the discussions.
Trump says he's considering selling F-35 fighter jets to Turkey and plans to lift sanctions
US President Donald Trump said he would soon decide whether to sell Turkey F-35 fighter jets despite a congressional ban, as he praised the country as more loyal than other recipients of the plane. He added later he would lift sanctions on Turkey for its purchase of a Russian air defense system.
Trump said the sales are “something certainly we consider.”
“It’s a great plane, it’s the best, currently the best plane by far, and certainly something we will consider,” he said.
US officials told CNN earlier that Trump is expected to signal this week that he is willing to sell the country F-35s, reversing a ban he put in place during his first term that has since been ratified into law.
How, exactly, Trump plans to get around the congressional ban on the fighter jet sales remained unclear.
But Trump said Turkey had been an “extraordinary” ally, and that the US had an obligation to fulfill orders the country had already placed for the military hardware.
On lifting sanctions: Asked about US sanctions that stem from Turkey’s procurement of the Russian S-400 system, Trump said they would be lifted soon.
This post has been updated to reflect Trump’s comments on sanctions.
Trump and Erdoğan put friendship on display
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is making Trump feel very welcome in Turkey, with honor guards, military bands and a carpet the color of Turkey’s famous Turquoise Coast.
At both the airport and at the Beştepe Presidential Palace, Trump was met with the symbols of high diplomatic honors, including trumpets blaring and cannons firing.
Trump has said the only reason he is attending this week’s summit is because of his close relationship with Erdoğan, and the Turkish leader appears intent on demonstrating his appreciation to the US president.
He said Trump was adding “might and strength” to the summit. Similar honors have not yet been afforded to other leaders attending the conference.
Trump, who is planning to signal his intent to sell Turkey F-35 fighter jets, praised Erdoğan.
“We are great friends,” Trump said, extolling on the beauty of the airport, roads and a building he claimed was named for him.
He said Turkey was a country to be “reckoned” with, “and the nice part is that because of the relationship that we have, it’s all gone very well.”
With Trump in Ankara, Netanyahu publicly opposes US F-35 jets for Turkey
US President Donald Trump’s visit to the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey will see one of Israel’s closest allies engaging with one of its main adversaries.
Turkey and Israel have been escalated their rhetoric recently, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be closely watching Trump’s interactions with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said in an interview with CNN Turk last week that Israel has become a “burden that humanity can no longer bear.”
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar condemned the remarks as “textbook incitement to genocide,” and urged NATO to respond. Netanyahu has raised the issue with Trump as well, according to an Israeli source.
Among Israel’s primary concerns is Trump’s declared intent to sell advanced F-35 stealth fighter jets to Turkey, a deal Israel has been lobbying allies in Washington to block.
Netanyahu made the case public in an interview on Fox News yesterday, warning that arming “a regime infected by the Muslim Brotherhood” would “upset the power balance in the Middle East which is ultimately guaranteed by Israel air superiority and by America’s posture.”
The Israeli source told CNN that Netanyahu has also raised the issue privately with Trump, arguing the sale could erode Israel’s qualitative military edge.
Zelensky urges European allies to "build strong defense against Russia's ballistic missiles"
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged European allies to prioritize the production of anti-ballistic missile systems while speaking at the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey.
“The one thing we still need to do here in Europe is build a strong defense against Russia’s ballistic missiles,” Zelensky said. “It’s a big challenge; this is Russia’s last major advantage.”
The Ukrainian leader also described the threat of Russia’s ballistic missiles — which have bombarded Ukraine’s capital Kyiv and killed scores of citizens on numerous occasions since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022 — as an issue of global importance.
“We already see each other as reliable partners, and it would be only natural to become a part of one common security community,” Zelensky appealed to the European community.
US has a stronger partner in Europe since NATO allies upped defense spending, Rutte says
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said Europe is a stronger partner to the US than it was five years ago, spolightlighting what he described as the progress the alliance is making to shift defense dependence away from the United States.
“We cannot continue, as we did, being over reliant on the United States,” Rutte said during a NATO-EU conversation with President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen in Turkey. “We need this much stronger Europe and a stronger NATO.”
Rutte said NATO’s priority is to expand its defense industrial bases across Europe, Canada and the US, adding that Europe has already experienced an increase of production lines in newly opened factories.
“What we are seeing at the moment is a transformation, which is unparalleled since the end of the Cold War, where Europe is taking so much more responsibility for NATO,” Rutte said.
“It is a NATO transformed, where the US has a strong partner in Europe, much more so than five years ago. … Therefore, all of NATO is stronger.”
Trump receives pomp-filled welcome in Turkey ahead of NATO summit
US President Donald Trump received a ceremonial welcome upon his arrival in Ankara on Tuesday ahead of a critical NATO summit, with Turkey rolling out a reception that underscored the close ties between Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
A red-carpet welcome — though the carpet was a distinctive Turquoise blue because of its connection to tradition — greeted the US president at Etimesgut Air Base, where what appeared to be a Turkish honor guard stood at attention.
Erdoğan was waiting on the tarmac to welcome Trump, highlighting the relationship between the two leaders. Trump has repeatedly referred to Erdoğan as “a friend.”
The White House said Trump was also greeted upon arrival by US Ambassador to Turkey and Special Presidential Envoy for Syria and Iraq Tom Barrack, US Ambassador to NATO Matt Whitaker, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine.
