President Donald Trump has officially departed the White House for the yearly summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
The president is expected to land in the Netherlands on Tuesday and return to the White House on Wednesday.
As Trump is set to attend his first NATO summit since becoming president for a second term but in the past, he’s railed against NATO members for “freeloading” off U.S. military protection.
NATO reached an agreement for all nations to boost their defense spending to five percent of their gross domestic product, except Spain.
Trump initially made the demand, which is expected to be finalized at the summit.
“This summit is really about NATO’s credibility, and we are urging all of our Allies to step up to the plate and pay their fair share for transatlantic security,” U.S. NATO Ambassador Matthew Whitaker said.
Fox News reports that President Trump is expected to meet with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and other world leaders and hold a press conference. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is also expected to attend, continuing his push for Ukraine’s admission into the alliance and its collective defense pact.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte boasted that allies were “stepping up to equal sharing of responsibility for our shared security.”
The President’s time at the summit will be brief, spending approximately 24 hours on the ground. His meetings “will focus on issues of shared concern and reaffirm the United States strong ties with our allies and partners,” according to an administration official.
But they come after Trump can boast of a ceasefire between Israel and Iran.
“It has been fully agreed by and between Israel and Iran that there will be a Complete and Total CEASEFIRE (in approximately 6 hours from now, when Israel and Iran have wound down and completed their in progress, final missions!), for 12 hours, at which point the War will be considered, ENDED!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
A senior Israeli official told Fox News on Tuesday that Iran had launched two missiles toward Israel following the announcement of the ceasefire, “and we believe they are trying to fire more in the next couple of hours.”
“Unfortunately, the Iranians have decided to continue to fire toward Israel,” the official said to Fox News Chief Foreign Correspondent Trey Yingst after Trump unveiled the deal Monday.
“Now we will have to retaliate, this will happen of course,” the official added. “It could end within several hours, but they [the Iranians] need to make a decision.”
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that the Israel Defense Forces carried out a small airstrike on Iranian radar equipment before backing down from further attacks.
“At 7:06 a.m., Iran launched one missile toward Israeli territory, and at 10:25 a.m., two more missiles. The missiles were intercepted or landed in open areas without causing casualties or damage,” the office said. “In response to Iran’s violations, the Israeli Air Force destroyed a radar array near Tehran. Following President Trump’s conversation with Prime Minister Netanyahu, Israel refrained from further strikes.”
“In the call, President Trump expressed his deep appreciation for Israel — which achieved all the objectives of the war. He also expressed his confidence in the stability of the ceasefire,” the office added.
