Trump arrives in Europe for annual Nato summit
Air Force One has landed at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport, bringing Donald Trump to a Nato summit at The Hague at which he is expected to take a victory lap over the ceasefire and apparent conclusion of the short Iran-Israel war.
His arrival comes as Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian announced the “end of the 12-day war imposed by Israel”, in a message to the nation carried by the official IRNA news agency, reported by AFP.
“Today, after the heroic resistance of our great nation, whose determination makes history, we are witnessing the establishment of a truce and the ending of this 12-day war imposed by the adventurism and provocation” of Israel, Pezeshkian said.
Trump will be formally greeted by King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, and will attend a private dinner for Nato leaders later, according to his schedule.
The president’s trip will be brief: he will attend the summit on Wednesday and head straight back to Washington DC to rejoin efforts to persuade senators to pass his wide-ranging spending agenda known as the “big, beautiful bill” before the 4 July holiday.
Key events
Before landing in Amsterdam, Donald Trump spoke to reporters aboard Air Force One, the president apparently casting doubt on the US commitment to defend Nato partners.
The Nato secretary general Mark Rutte said Tuesday that he had no doubt that Trump was committed to the alliance’s Article 5 mutual defense clause.
But according to Reuters, Trump told the press gaggle that there were “numerous” definitions to the cornerstone of the defense pact.
Asked if he was committed to Article 5, Trump responded: “I’m committed to saving lives. I’m committed to life and safety. And I’m going to give you an exact definition when I get there.”
Here’s Donald Trump descending the steps of Air Force One in Amsterdam on Wednesday after his arrival for Nato’s annual summit in the Netherlands.
He’s on his way to The Hague, where he will be greeted by King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, and attend a private dinner they are hosting for Nato leaders.
While we wait for more news of Donald Trump’s arrival in Europe for the Nato summit in the Netherlands, the Guardian’s exclusive interview with Mark Rutte, secretary general of the alliance, is worth a read.
Rutte tells my colleagues Pjotr Sauer and Dan Sabbagh in The Hague that it was “not a difficult thing” to get members to agree to raise defense spending to 5% of GDP because of the rising threat from Russia – and stressed that Trump remained “absolutely” committed to supporting the alliance”.
Rutte said that all 32 Nato members had agreed to increase defense spending because “there is so much at stake” after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine:
The security situation has changed so much, and people know that when the call comes [in the event an attack on a Nato member] … you now need to deliver to the collective endeavor, what you promised, that you better have your stuff there.
Read the full report here:
Trump arrives in Europe for annual Nato summit
Air Force One has landed at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport, bringing Donald Trump to a Nato summit at The Hague at which he is expected to take a victory lap over the ceasefire and apparent conclusion of the short Iran-Israel war.
His arrival comes as Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian announced the “end of the 12-day war imposed by Israel”, in a message to the nation carried by the official IRNA news agency, reported by AFP.
“Today, after the heroic resistance of our great nation, whose determination makes history, we are witnessing the establishment of a truce and the ending of this 12-day war imposed by the adventurism and provocation” of Israel, Pezeshkian said.
Trump will be formally greeted by King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, and will attend a private dinner for Nato leaders later, according to his schedule.
The president’s trip will be brief: he will attend the summit on Wednesday and head straight back to Washington DC to rejoin efforts to persuade senators to pass his wide-ranging spending agenda known as the “big, beautiful bill” before the 4 July holiday.
A Guardian study of government data has revealed that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (Ice) is continuing to arrest an increasing number of immigrants without any criminal history.
This report from Will Craft and José Olivares says the data appears to contradict frequent assertions by Trump administration officials that the agency is prioritizing the pursuit of criminals in its immigration enforcement operations.
In mid-June, Ice data shows there were more than 11,700 people in immigration detention who had been arrested by Ice despite having no track record of being charged with or convicted of a crime. That represents a staggering 1,271% increase from data released on those in immigration detention immediately before the start of Trump’s second term.
Overall, CBS News reports, there are a record 59,000 individuals currently in Ice custody, 10,000 more than in May, a figure significantly higher than the 41,000 detainee beds funded by Congress.
Read the full story here:
Democrats on the Senate committee overseeing aviation said Tuesday they will oppose the nomination of Republic Airways chief executive Bryan Bedford to head the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Senators Maria Cantwell of Washington, the top Democrat on the commerce committee, and Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, the ranking member of the aviation subcommittee, cited Bedford’s refusal to commit to uphold the 1,500-hour training rule for co-pilots, Reuters reports.
He faces a committee vote to advance his nomination on Wednesday.
In 2022, Bedford criticized the FAA’s rejection of Republic’s petition to allow only 750 hours of flight experience. Earlier this month he told lawmakers: “I would never do anything to compromise safety as administrator.”
Bedford has also previously criticized the FAA for what he sees as serious leadership, trust and culture issues.
A notable development on the day that vaccine averse health secretary Robert F Kennedy is testifying to congress: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) posted a report on Tuesday that said evidence does not support a link between thimerosal-containing vaccines and autism or other neurodevelopmental disorders.
Any link between vaccines and autism has long been scientifically debunked, but that hasn’t prevented Kennedy, and others, from promoting conspiracy theories about it.
Tuesday’s report comes ahead of a two-day CDC meeting set for Wednesday, its first after Kennedy fired all 17 members of the independent committee of experts on vaccines, and replaced them with just eight new members, some of whom have previously advocated against vaccines.
On the agenda, Reuters reports, are discussions about thimerosal, a mercury-based organic preservative, in flu shots; and a safety review of the measles, mumps, rubella and varicella shot.
Kennedy has a long history of casting doubt on the safety of vaccines contrary to scientific evidence. He wrote a book in 2014 claiming that thimerosal causes brain damage.
According to the evidence report, 96% of all influenza vaccines in the US were thimerosal-free during the 2024-25 flu season.
Rutte: no doubt Trump committed to mutual defense clause
Nato secretary general Mark Rutte also said on Tuesday he had no doubt that Trump was committed to the alliance’s Article 5 mutual defence clause.
Rutte: no issues with disclosing message he sent to Trump
Nato secretary general Mark Rutte has expressed that he has no problem with Trump disclosing the message he sent to him.
Earlier today, Trump posted a screenshot of a text message he received from Rutte, praising him for striking the Iranian nuclear sites.
In the message, Rutte congratulates and thanks Trump for his “decisive action in Iran”, calling it“ truly extraordinary” and “something no one else dared to do”.
Rutte then says that Trump is “flying into another big success in The Hague”.
On Tuesday afternoon Rutte said that he had no problem with Trump disclosing the message, and said that he believed that the tone of the message was appropriate.
In response to the Trump administration postponing the all-senators briefing on Iran that was scheduled for this afternoon, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer described the last-minute postponement as “outrageous, evasive, and derelict”.
In a statement, Schumer said:
Senators deserve full transparency, and the administration has a legal obligation to inform Congress precisely about what is happening.
What is the administration so afraid of? Why won’t they engage with Congress on the critical details: the results of the recent strike, the scope and trajectory of this conflict, the administration’s long-term strategy to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, and the potential risks facing American citizens and our servicemembers?
To be abundantly clear: neither Pete Hegseth nor Marco Rubio were scheduled to attend this briefing. If Rubio and Hegseth want to come up on Thursday, in addition, not in replacement, to the planned briefing, fine.
Such obstruction undermines the very principles of accountability and oversight that safeguard our democracy.”
This comes as it was reported earlier today that the Trump administration had postponed classified briefings on the situation in Iran scheduled for today.
The all-Senate briefing was moved to Thursday, and the briefing for all House lawmakers was also reportedly postponed but it was not immediately when it would be rescheduled.
Trump heads to annual Nato summit as Rutte praises his ‘decisive action in Iran’
Trump left Washington DC this morning and is currently on his way to the annual Nato summit at The Hague.
This comes as earlier this morning, Trump posted what appeared to be a text message from Nato secretary general Mark Rutte, praising him for striking the Iranian nuclear sites.
In the message, which Rutte’s representatives confirmed as authentic to the New York Times, Rutte congratulates and thanks Trump for his “decisive action in Iran”, calling it“truly extraordinary” and “something no one else dared to do.”
Rutte then says that Trump is “flying into another big success in The Hague.”
The Trump administration has reportedly postponed classified briefings for Senate and House members regarding the situation in Iran.
According to the Associated Press, which cites multiple anonymous sources, the Senate briefing has been moved to Thursday so that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio can attend, and the House briefings have been postponed.
Health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr said on Tuesday that he has rehired 942 employees who were previously laid off from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
“I brought 722 people back to CDC, I brought 220 people back to NIH because we were not able to perform our job,” Kennedy stated today during a hearing before the US House of Representatives committee on energy and commerce’s subcommittee on health focused on his department’s 2026 budget request.
