On June 24, 2025, President Trump successfully brokered a ceasefire between Israel and Iran, putting an end to the most intense military conflict they had seen since June 13. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte praised this achievement.
“Congratulations and thank you for taking decisive action on the Iran issue, this is truly extraordinary and something that others would not dare to do,” Rutte said in a message to Trump. “This makes all of us safer.”
Trump announced earlier on that day that an immediate ceasefire had been agreed upon by both Iran and Israel, with all Israeli warplanes returning home. “No one will be harmed,” he emphasized, calling it a “genuine ceasefire agreement” and urging the Israeli side not to drop any more bombs, extending the hand of peace.
“Both Israel and Iran equally want to end the war!” Trump wrote on Truth Social, “Destroying all (Iran’s) nuclear facilities and capabilities, and then ending the war, that’s my utmost glory!” Trump also stated that Iran would never be able to rebuild its nuclear facilities.
Prior to this, Trump had ordered the use of powerful U.S. bunker buster bombs to bombard Iran’s underground nuclear facilities. Before the ceasefire took effect, he had separate conversations with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian to coordinate the ceasefire mechanism. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio was also involved, mediating through regional countries such as Qatar and Oman.
On Tuesday, Trump flew to The Hague to attend the first NATO summit held in the Netherlands. Rutte praised him for another diplomatic success he was about to achieve, “Tonight, you fly to The Hague, to welcome another significant success. This was not easy, but we have managed to get everyone to agree to increase defense spending to 5% of GDP.”
Trump has consistently advocated for NATO allies to increase their defense spending, and the newly proposed 5% is set to officially become part of the alliance’s policy.
At the same time, US officials indicated that the situation in the Middle East has begun to stabilize and the UN Security Council has called on all parties to fulfill their commitments and coordinate humanitarian aid delivery.
In the early stages of the ceasefire, both sides accused each other of violating it, with Israel’s Defense Minister Katz claiming a new round of airstrikes was in response to Iran’s missile attacks. However, Iran denied launching any missiles and stated that Israeli airstrikes continued for 90 minutes after the agreement had taken effect.
The White House emphasized that if necessary, the US would continue to intervene to ensure the ceasefire holds and long-term peace is achieved.
During the NATO summit in The Hague from Tuesday to Wednesday, Trump is expected to discuss with Rutte and the leaders of the other 31 NATO member countries the follow-up mechanisms for Middle East peace, European defense autonomy, and the situation in Ukraine.