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Trump doubles down on damage U.S. strikes caused to Iran's nuclear sites

President Trump and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte attend a North Atlantic Council plenary meeting on the second day of the 2025 NATO Summit on June 25 in The Hague, Netherlands. Among other matters, members are to approve a new defense investment plan that raises the target for defense spending to 5% of GDP.
Andrew Harnik
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President Trump and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte attend a North Atlantic Council plenary meeting on the second day of the 2025 NATO Summit on June 25 in The Hague, Netherlands. Among other matters, members are to approve a new defense investment plan that raises the target for defense spending to 5% of GDP.

Updated June 25, 2025 at 7:56 AM CDT

Listen to NPR's live coverage and analysis of President Trump's news conference by tapping the audio player above. You can also tune in on the NPR app and on local member stations. And watch it live below.


President Trump is planning to hold a news conference at the conclusion of the NATO summit in the Netherlands as the world watches to see whether a ceasefire between Israel and Iran will endure.

Trump traveled to the summit on Tuesday, the morning after announcing the ceasefire, which came days after the United States joined Israel's attacks on key Iranian nuclear facilities. Trump has claimed that the U.S. strikes destroyed Iran's ability to build nuclear weapons, but an early classified U.S. intelligence assessment said the bombs caused only limited damage, setting Tehran's nuclear program back "a few months."

The White House has dismissed that assessment. On Wednesday Trump said it was "very inconclusive" and said he continues to believe it was severe.

At NATO, allies were working on a new commitment that would see countries commit 5% of their gross domestic product to defense spending by 2035, up from 2%. Trump has long called for allies to boost their spending, saying that the United States was paying more than its fair share. The U.S. contributes about 3.5% of its GDP to NATO.

But on his way to the summit, Trump told reporters that the new goal didn't apply to U.S. spending. "They're in Europe. We're not," he said. He also expressed some ambivalence to Article 5, the mutual defense clause in the NATO treaty that says an attack on one member is considered an attack on all, adding to long-held fears among European allies that Trump would not back them in the event of an attack.

Copyright 2025 NPR

Danielle Kurtzleben is a political correspondent assigned to NPR's Washington Desk. She appears on NPR shows, writes for the web, and is a regular on The NPR Politics Podcast. She is covering the 2020 presidential election, with particular focuses on on economic policy and gender politics.