Developments in Ukraine and Iran, as well as the increase in defence spending, dominated the agenda at the NATO Summit held in Ankara on Wednesday.

In his address, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who hosted the summit, called on the European Union to lift restrictions and include Turkey in SAFE, the EU’s Security Action for Europe defence funding programme. He also said his country was ready to contribute to efforts to clear mines from the Strait of Hormuz.

US President Donald Trump complained about what he described as a lack of European support in the war with Iran, while also referring to migration as a threat facing Europe.

Earlier, speaking during his meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Trump said that, in his view, the ceasefire with Iran no longer existed, describing Tehran’s leaders as “sick people.” He also called Spain a “terrible ally” and said trade ties with the country should be cut.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, commenting on the possible sale of F-35 fighter jets to Turkey, said the sensitivities of all NATO member states must be taken into account. He added that there can be no real alliance while Greece continues to face a Turkish casus belli, the formal threat of war if Athens extends its territorial waters in the Aegean.

Trump: I cannot tell you whether we will attack today, but Iran cannot do anything about it

Donald Trump declined to say whether the United States would launch another attack on Iran on Wednesday, but warned that Tehran would be unable to prevent it.

Trump: We will hit Iran hard, maybe even tonight

The US president said on Wednesday that Iran would be struck again “very hard,” possibly within hours, while adding that Washington was not seeking regime change in Tehran.

“I am not looking for regime change. We do not want them to have nuclear weapons,” Trump said.

Trump warns Iran of possible new US strikes

Donald Trump warned Iran that the United States could carry out further military strikes on Wednesday night, one day after US attacks were launched.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Turkey, Trump said: “I will give a little warning: we will hit them hard tonight.”

‘We are waiting for you’, Iranian MP tells Trump ‘after threat of new strike on Kharg Island

Iranian politicians have reacted angrily to Donald Trump’s threat to launch further attacks on Kharg Island, the strategic hub at the centre of Iran’s oil exports.

Ebrahim Rezaei, spokesman for the Iranian parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, wrote on X: “Come, we are waiting for you, and we promise you that not a single American soldier will return alive.”

Ali Akbar Velayati, Iran’s former foreign minister and a senior adviser to the country’s leadership, also condemned what he described as the latest escalation. In a post on X, he said Iran had already warned that “the region is no place for the political gambling of small countries,” adding that Tehran had “its finger on the trigger to clean up the region.”