Overview
- At the Ankara summit NATO Secretary‑General Mark Rutte defended allied help for U.S. operations against Iran, saying European bases have enabled up to 5,000 U.S. sorties and that bilateral basing arrangements are being used.
- President Donald Trump publicly named Italy, Germany and France as countries that declined to back U.S. action, and U.S. Central Command said American strikes on Tehran hit more than 80 targets.
- NATO is pressing members to convert recent budget increases into concrete procurement and industry deals under the Hague 5% of GDP goal, with reports pointing to roughly €70 billion ($76 billion) in 2026 military assistance for Ukraine.
- The Pentagon has opened a six‑month review of U.S. force posture in Europe and has already moved some capabilities, increasing pressure on European governments to deliver deployable high‑end systems quickly.
- Allies have sharply raised spending since 2016—NATO cites about $1.0–1.2 trillion from Europe and Canada—and Ankara is framing this year’s summit as an implementation test for the alliance’s ‘NATO 3.0’ push and its industrial bottlenecks.