Overview
- NATO Secretary‑General Mark Rutte met President Trump in the Oval Office on Wednesday to push back on U.S. accusations that allies largely refused to support the Iran campaign.
- Rutte used charts he called the “Trump Trillion” to show large increases in European defence spending and told Trump that thousands of U.S. military flights operated from bases in Europe during the Iran war.
- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has launched a formal six‑month Pentagon review of U.S. forces in Europe that officials say could lead to reductions or conditions tied to allied access, spending and readiness.
- Italy and other European governments disputed some U.S. characterizations of denied base or airspace access, describing their support as limited to technical or logistical permissions in some cases.
- Leaders now turn to the July 7–8 NATO summit in Ankara as the moment to translate Rutte’s outreach and recent spending pledges into concrete commitments on burden‑sharing and alliance posture, with potential effects on European security and U.S. troop deployments.