US and Iran Near Agreement After Recent Strikes

President Trump said the US will meet with Iran next week, potentially leading to a formal agreement, although he doesn't think it's necessary since US strikes have "obliterated" Iran's nuclear sites. A 12-day conflict between Israel and Iran has resulted in a tenuous ceasefire, with 28 dead in Israel and hundreds in Iran. Trump claimed the US strikes set back Iran's nuclear program "basically decades," but a classified assessment estimated the setback was only a matter of months. Trump also met with NATO leaders, where members agreed to increase defense spending to 5% of GDP, and discussed Ukraine with President Zelenskyy, saying the US may provide Patriot missile defense systems.

After Donald Trump announced a ceasefire between Israel and Iran, both countries continued to attack each other for hours, with Israel striking Iran's missile-launchers and assassinating a nuclear scientist, and Iran launching a missile that penetrated Israel's air defenses and killed at least four people. Iran's regime denied making a deal with America but said it would wind down fighting if Israel did, effectively accepting a precarious truce.

President Donald Trump and his national security officials spent a NATO summit rebutting an early US intelligence report that found weekend US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities did not destroy the core components of Iran's nuclear program. The report, from the Pentagon's intelligence arm, assessed that the strikes likely only set back Iran's nuclear program by months. Trump and his officials, including Secretaries of State and Defense Marco Rubio and Pete Hegseth, presented a more devastating picture of the strikes, citing additional intelligence and a statement from Israel's Atomic Energy Commission. Trump compared the strikes to the US dropping nuclear bombs on Japan during World War II, saying both were effective in ending wars. The administration plans to limit sharing classified information with Congress, believing the report was leaked. Trump suggested that the strikes may have rendered a diplomatic agreement with Iran unnecessary, but said talks were scheduled for next week.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte praised President Donald Trump as a "man of strength" and a "man of peace" at the 2025 NATO Summit after the US struck Iran's nuclear facilities. Rutte commended Trump's decisive action on Iran and his role in securing a ceasefire between Israel and Iran. Trump shared texts from Rutte on Truth Social, in which the NATO leader expressed his support for Trump's move against Iran, stating it "makes us all safer." Rutte also praised Trump's effort to get NATO members to increase their defense spending, with all countries except Spain agreeing to spend 5% of their GDP on defense. NATO member states had mixed reactions to the strikes, with some calling for de-escalation while acknowledging the threat posed by Iran's nuclear program.