On Wednesday, June 25th, during the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, President Trump held a press conference where he discussed issues such as the Iran nuclear problem, NATO defense spending, and the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
In his speech, Trump once again emphasized the success of the United States in targeting Iran’s nuclear facilities and praised the strength of the U.S. military.
“As you know, last weekend the United States successfully carried out a massive and precise strike on Iran’s nuclear enrichment facilities, which was very, very successful and deemed destructive. There is no other military in the world that could achieve this, and now, the incredible display of strength by the United States paves the way for a historic ceasefire agreement,” he said.
“We have reaffirmed the credibility of U.S. deterrence,” he added. The President also reiterated his long-standing stance over the past 15 years that Iran cannot possess nuclear weapons.
During his speech, the President read a letter received from the Israeli Atomic Energy Commission.
The letter stated, “The destructive strike by the United States on the Fordo nuclear facility destroyed critical infrastructure of the facility, rendering the enrichment facility completely inoperable.”
“We assess that the U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities have hindered Iran’s ability to develop nuclear weapons for many years to come,” the letter continued.
Trump also addressed the issue of increasing defense spending by NATO member countries.
He said, “The focus of discussions today has been on the necessity for other NATO member countries to shoulder the burden of European defense.”
Trump further stated that the new NATO defense spending announcement will be called the “Hague Defense Commitment.” When countries reach the goal of defense spending at 5% of their GDP, collective defense among allies will increase by over $1 trillion annually.
“This is a tremendous victory for the United States, Europe, and Western civilization,” he remarked.
Since 2017, Trump has been urging NATO member countries to increase defense spending, resulting in a $700 billion increase in defense spending so far.
During the press conference, Trump expressed his desire to resolve the war between Russia and Ukraine, citing the significant loss of life caused by the conflict.
“This means lives are disappearing,” the President stated.
He reiterated that if he was President at the time, the war between Russia and Ukraine would not have occurred.
Trump also emphasized that the additional funding from NATO partners must be allocated towards military hardware expenses rather than bureaucratic institutions.
When asked why the Russia-Ukraine conflict has not yet ended, Trump responded that it is far more difficult than people imagine.
(Reference: BBC News)