At NATO summit in Turkey, Trump says he believes ceasefire with Iran is 'over'
✓Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan welcomes President Trump upon his arrival at Etimesgut Air Base near Ankara, Turkey, on July 7 before attending the NATO summit. Abdullah Guclu/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
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Abdullah Guclu/AFP via Getty Images
President Trump said Wednesday he believes the current ceasefire with Iran is over following an exchange of attacks between the U.S. and Iran in the latest escalation straining the agreement to end the war.
"I think it's over. I don't want to deal with them anymore. They're scum," Trump told reporters in Ankara as he wrapped up his visit to attend the NATO summit.
Trump, however, did not rule out talks continuing to permanently end the war with Iran.
His comments came after the U.S. and Iran traded fire again overnight Wednesday.
The strikes followed Tuesday's attacks on three commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. said it carried out strikes on Iranian targets in what it said was retaliation for the previous Iranian aggression. Iranian Revolutionary Guard said it responded to those strikes by launching missiles and drones against Kuwait and Bahrain, two Arab Gulf countries that host U.S. military bases.
Trump is in Ankara, Turkey, to attend the NATO summit, where he has continued to air grievances, lamenting that European countries don't contribute enough to their own defense spending, as Russia's war against Ukraine has dragged on.
He has also expressed frustration since the U.S. and Israel's war with Iran began that Europe hasn't been supportive enough of his agenda.
Earlier in the day, the president said he was "testing" allies on how they'd help with the war.
"Italy turned us down, and Germany turned us down, and France turned us down, and it's OK, but you know, why are we spending hundreds of billions of dollars and they're not there for us? We've always been there for them," Trump said.
The tension between Trump and NATO nations has also grown as the president continued on Tuesday to insist that the U.S. should have control of Greenland, a territory currently under Denmark.
Despite friction in the alliance, at the gathering Trump has discussed some issues important to him related to the U.S.-Israel-led war in Iran, such as increased defense spending and logistics around opening the Strait of Hormuz.
And as the two-day summit ends, Trump is expected to take questions during a Wednesday press conference.
The brief two-day gathering typically left little time for one-on-one meetings, but Trump was expected to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the gathering. Negotiating an end to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine has been an elusive goal for Trump, who has teased recently that the end of the war is "getting closer," without providing much further detail. He also said he recently spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
On Tuesday, Trump met with the leader of the host nation, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whom he considers a friend. The two discussed the U.S. potentially selling F-35 fighter jets to Turkey — despite there being a congressional ban in place that prevents this.
"We have a very good relationship. … Why wouldn't we do that?" Trump said in his meeting with Erdogan.
At NATO's two-day summit in Ankara, President Trump told reporters he believes the ceasefire with Iran has ended. This statement followed overnight military exchanges in which the U.S. conducted strikes on Iranian targets, and Iran's Revolutionary Guard responded with missiles and drones directed at areas near American military bases in Kuwait and Bahrain. The broader context includes Tuesday's attacks on three commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz. During the summit, Trump reiterated concerns about NATO defense spending levels and expressed disappointment that several European countries—Italy, Germany, and France—declined involvement in his stated Iran agenda. He met separately with Turkish President Erdogan to discuss potential F-35 fighter jet sales to Turkey. Trump also indicated he plans to meet with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on the summit's sidelines and said he recently spoke with Russian President Putin, though he provided no new details on resolving the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan welcomes President Trump upon his arrival at Etimesgut Air Base near Ankara, Turkey, on July 7 before attending the NATO summit. Abdullah Guclu/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
toggle caption
Abdullah Guclu/AFP via Getty Images
President Trump said Wednesday he believes the current ceasefire with Iran is over following an exchange of attacks between the U.S. and Iran in the latest escalation straining the agreement to end the war.
"I think it's over. I don't want to deal with them anymore. They're scum," Trump told reporters in Ankara as he wrapped up his visit to attend the NATO summit.
Trump, however, did not rule out talks continuing to permanently end the war with Iran.
His comments came after the U.S. and Iran traded fire again overnight Wednesday.
The strikes followed Tuesday's attacks on three commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. said it carried out strikes on Iranian targets in what it said was retaliation for the previous Iranian aggression. Iranian Revolutionary Guard said it responded to those strikes by launching missiles and drones against Kuwait and Bahrain, two Arab Gulf countries that host U.S. military bases.
Trump is in Ankara, Turkey, to attend the NATO summit, where he has continued to air grievances, lamenting that European countries don't contribute enough to their own defense spending, as Russia's war against Ukraine has dragged on.
He has also expressed frustration since the U.S. and Israel's war with Iran began that Europe hasn't been supportive enough of his agenda.
Earlier in the day, the president said he was "testing" allies on how they'd help with the war.
"Italy turned us down, and Germany turned us down, and France turned us down, and it's OK, but you know, why are we spending hundreds of billions of dollars and they're not there for us? We've always been there for them," Trump said.
The tension between Trump and NATO nations has also grown as the president continued on Tuesday to insist that the U.S. should have control of Greenland, a territory currently under Denmark.
Despite friction in the alliance, at the gathering Trump has discussed some issues important to him related to the U.S.-Israel-led war in Iran, such as increased defense spending and logistics around opening the Strait of Hormuz.
And as the two-day summit ends, Trump is expected to take questions during a Wednesday press conference.
The brief two-day gathering typically left little time for one-on-one meetings, but Trump was expected to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the gathering. Negotiating an end to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine has been an elusive goal for Trump, who has teased recently that the end of the war is "getting closer," without providing much further detail. He also said he recently spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
On Tuesday, Trump met with the leader of the host nation, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whom he considers a friend. The two discussed the U.S. potentially selling F-35 fighter jets to Turkey — despite there being a congressional ban in place that prevents this.
"We have a very good relationship. … Why wouldn't we do that?" Trump said in his meeting with Erdogan.
Trump said at the NATO summit in Ankara that he believes the ceasefire with Iran is over The U.S. and Iran traded fire overnight Wednesday following American strikes on Iranian targets, which were described as retaliation for Iranian aggression Iran's Revolutionary Guard responded to U.S. strikes by launching missiles and drones against Kuwait and Bahrain The escalation followed Tuesday attacks on three commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz Trump stated he does not want to deal with Iran, calling them 'scum' Trump did not rule out future talks to permanently end the conflict with Iran Trump expressed frustration that European NATO countries are not contributing adequately to their own defense Trump criticized Italy, Germany, and France for declining to support his Iran agenda Trump met with Turkish President Erdogan to discuss F-35 fighter jet sales despite congressional restrictions
- Trump stated at the NATO summit in Ankara that he believes the U.S.-Iran ceasefire is over, following recent military exchanges between the two countries
- The U.S. and Iran traded strikes overnight Wednesday; Iran's Revolutionary Guard responded to American strikes with missiles and drones targeting areas near U.S. military bases in Kuwait and Bahrain
- Trump expressed frustration that European NATO allies have declined to support his agenda on the Iran conflict and criticized their defense spending contributions
- Trump discussed defense spending increases and Strait of Hormuz logistics at the summit, and met with Turkish President Erdogan to discuss potential F-35 fighter jet sales