Talks with Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte did not appear to calm US President Donald Trump’s frustrations, as ITV News International Editor Emma Murphy and US Correspondent Robert Moore report
US President Donald Trump has said all US ships, aircraft and military personnel will “remain in place in, and around, Iran, until such time as the REAL AGREEMENT reached is fully complied with”.
Writing on Truth Social overnight, Trump said the military will stay in place with additional ammunition, weaponry, “and anything else that is appropriate and necessary for the lethal prosecution and destruction of an already substantially degraded enemy”.
The statement comes a day after Trump and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire, with negotiations based on a 10-point plan proposed by Iran.
Trump had described the plan as “a workable basis on which to negotiate”, but it did include the withdrawal of US “combat forces” from the region and Iran being allowed to continue its uranium enrichment programmes – both likely sticking points in the negotiations.
“Our great Military is Loading Up and Resting, looking forward, actually, to its next Conquest. AMERICA IS BACK!”, his post concluded.
Trump’s ‘frank’ meeting with Nato chief
The US president met with Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte on Wednesday in what the Dutch politician described as a “frank and open discussion”.
Rutte highlighted efforts to secure the Strait of Hormuz shipping lane, and the role UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer was playing, but he acknowledged the US president was “clearly disappointed” with how European allies had responded to his actions in Iran.
The talks did not appear to calm the president’s frustrations.
“NATO WASN’T THERE WHEN WE NEEDED THEM, AND THEY WON’T BE THERE IF WE NEED THEM AGAIN. REMEMBER GREENLAND, THAT BIG, POORLY RUN, PIECE OF ICE!!!”, Trump wrote on Truth Social shortly after the meeting.
Earlier the White House said Britain and other Nato allies had “turned their backs” on the American people during the war.
He has previously raised the possibility of the US quitting Nato, branding it a “paper tiger”.
The UK’s refusal to be drawn into the offensive against Iran, dubbed Operation Epic Fury by the US, and to restrict the use of its bases by American forces has put a severe strain on relations between Starmer and Trump.
Trump has repeatedly criticised and mocked the prime minister and the British military, including describing the UK’s aircraft carriers as “toys” that “aren’t the best”.
Israel’s strikes on Lebanon
Israel is part of the two-week ceasefire arrangement, but President Benjamin Netanyahu said early on Wednesday that the deal would not cover fighting against Hezbollah.
Israeli strikes hit several dense commercial and residential areas in central Beirut on Wednesday afternoon without warning, killing dozens and wounding hundreds of people.
The Israeli military called it the “largest coordinated strike” in the current conflict, striking more than 100 Hezbollah targets within 10 minutes in Beirut, southern Lebanon and the eastern Bekaa valley.
In unusually strong language, UN Secretary-General António Guterres “unequivocally” condemned the strikes, according to a statement by his spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric.
Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz again on Wednesday in response to the attacks against the militant group.
In its 10-point plan, Iran said the US must agree to “cessation of the war on all fronts, including against the heroic Islamic resistance in Lebanon”.
British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper is expected to say in a speech on Thursday evening that Lebanon must be included in the Iran ceasefire agreement and that there “must be no return to conflict”.
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