Trump threatens new strikes on Iran as NATO summit ends

President Donald Trump used the closing news conference of the NATO summit in Ankara to threaten fresh strikes on Iran, turning a gathering meant to project alliance discipline into a sharper display of U.S.-Iran confrontation.

U.S. Central Command said it struck more than 80 Iranian targets on Tuesday after Iranian attacks on three ships in the Strait of Hormuz. The conflict then widened further, with U.S. military sites in Bahrain and Kuwait also reported hit in Iranian retaliation. Trump told reporters at the summit that the interim understanding with Iran was “over,” said he was not sure he still wanted to make a deal, and warned that the United States might strike Iran again.

The president’s language was unusually blunt even by his standards. He described Iranian leaders as “scum” and “vicious, violent people,” then left open the possibility of additional military action. The remarks suggested no sign of softening after the latest exchange of attacks, even as Trump appeared to keep the door open to a negotiated settlement if Tehran changed course.

The escalation came at the same summit where Trump and other NATO leaders were expected to focus on defense spending, support for Ukraine and the question of alliance unity. Instead, Trump repeatedly pushed the meeting off message. He clashed with allies over Spain and Greenland, then later said there was “a lot of unity,” a whiplash sequence that underscored how quickly his unscripted remarks can overshadow the official agenda.

The NATO summit, held July 7-8 in Ankara, Turkey, was supposed to end with allied leaders emphasizing coordination and burden-sharing. Trump’s press conference instead tied the closing moments of the meeting to a fast-moving military confrontation in the Gulf, raising questions about whether his remarks reflected a firmer U.S. posture toward Iran or simply another improvisation layered over summit-stage diplomacy.