Trump heads to NATO summit as Iran overshadows agenda

President Trump on Tuesday heads to Brussels for a whirlwind NATO summit at the Hague, Netherlands, hours after he announced that Iran and Israel had reached a ceasefire agreement.   

The president hoped to secure during the summit a commitment from NATO allies to spend at least 5% of GDP on defense. But a day before he was to arrive, the alliance had already agreed to the boost in defense spending, according to Matthew Whitaker, U.S. ambassador to NATO. He told reporters in a briefing Monday that as a result of Mr. Trump's leadership, NATO was "on track" to make that "historic commitment" of 5%. 

The U.S. spent roughly 3.4% of GDP on defense in 2023, but the president said he thinks the U.S. should not have the same 5% target.