U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the U.S. will give a license for its Patriot air defense systems to be made overseas for Ukraine to counter Russian missile attacks, a huge coup for Ukraine, which has badly needed the technology in the war now in its fifth year.
Trump made the announcement as he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the NATO summit in Turkey, praising him as having “done an amazing job” and “been very effective” in the war.
Speaking at the summit a day after Trump again expressed a desire for the U.S. to control Greenland, Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said, “Greenland is of course not for sale.”
Here is the latest:
Merz defends US strikes on Iran
The German chancellor said it was clearly Iran that violated the ceasefire agreement. He said the U.S. military had struck back on Trump’s orders and “that is justified.”
But he added that “in the end, there must be an agreement with Iran that ends the nuclear program permanently and reopens the Strait of Hormuz permanently.”
Trump appears to have cooled on the idea of getting Syria to fight Hezbollah
Sitting across from al-Sharaa, Trump gave a cautious response when asked about his earlier suggestion that Syria should lead the fight against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
“They could help, we’ll find out,” Trump said. “I think we’re making a lot of progress.”
Al-Sharaa wasn’t asked about it at their one-on-one meeting.
Trump raised the idea at the G7 summit last month, saying he thought Syria would do a better job than Israel. Days later, he again criticized Israel’s handling of the situation and said he was “close to giving it to Syria.”
Al-Sharaa has previously said he has no interest in taking on that role.
Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa thanks Trump for lifting sanctions
Al-Sharaa thanked Trump for “the historic decision to lift the sanctions,” saying “the entire Syrian people thank President Trump.”
Trump met al-Sharaa in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in May 2025 months after the fall of former Syrian President Bashar Assad. Since then, his administration has steadily eased U.S. sanctions on Syria.
Ahead of meeting Trump Wednesday, al-Sharaa met with a U.S. congressional delegation that was also in Ankara for the NATO summit, according to Syrian state media.
German leader says the summit contributed to keeping NATO together
Chancellor Friedrich Merz said his expectations of the summit were more than fulfilled.
He said he’s “returning to Germany with the feeling that we made a big contribution to NATO staying together, to it becoming stronger, to it becoming more European.”
Merz said there was “a new feeling of European responsibility in the room.”
Trump says oil prices rise when the US attacks Iran
The U.S. president said oil prices were rising Wednesday after military attacks intensified with Iran in a troubling sign for peace talks.
“Any time we hit them, it goes up a little bit — $2,” Trump told reporters. “As oil goes, so goes everything else.”
The president has taken conflicting stances on the energy price bump caused by the Iran war, saying it wasn’t a consideration for ending the war and then touting price declines after an interim deal was announced in June.
But Trump’s math was somewhat off. U.S. oil futures were trading Wednesday morning at roughly $75 a barrel, an increase of about $5.
Trump suggests he’ll remove Syria from terrorism list
During his sit-down with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, Trump was asked if he would remove Syria from the State Department’s state sponsors of terrorism list, which brings a range of sanctions.
“I think I will, yeah. Why wouldn’t I?” Trump said. “He’s done a great job,” Trump added, referring to al-Sharaa.
Trump spoke warmly about al-Sharaa, calling him a strong and respected leader who brought together a country that was “a real mess, very disjointed.”
Syria has been on the list since 1979. Some U.S. lawmakers have called for removing Syria from the list, citing improvements after the 2024 ouster of Bashar Assad.
Spain’s leader downplays Trump’s threats and calls relationship with US ‘very positive’
Asked about Trump’s renewed trade threats, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called the bilateral relationship with the U.S. “positive” and said Spain had fulfilled its defense spending obligations for 2026.
Sánchez added that he and Trump briefly spoke at the summit in Turkey and shared “nothing but kind words and friendliness.”
“We spoke about football, about the World Cup in the United States,” Sánchez told reporters. “It was an informal chat.”
The Spanish leader downplayed Trump’s threats to cut off trade with Spain, saying his government had taken the comments with “a certain normalcy,” reiterating that the European Union handles trade policy on behalf of the bloc’s 27 member states, including Spain.
“When one looks beyond these statements, what becomes apparent is that the relationship between the United States and Spain — across social, cultural, economic and political spheres — is very, very positive,” Sánchez said.
Spanish minister says Spain ‘accepts neither blackmail nor threats’
Health Minister Mónica García was the first Spanish government official to comment publicly in response to Trump’s renewed trade threats against Spain over its defense spending.
On X, García wrote: “Trump calls Spain a ‘terrible partner’ because it accepts neither blackmail nor threats. Because we are a sovereign, democratic country that defends multilateralism and peace. What is terrible is to confuse diplomacy with bullying.”
Trump wants Putin and Zelenskyy to meet but says it probably won’t be in Moscow
Asked about his efforts to broker a deal between Russia and Ukraine, Trump said he’d like to see the leaders of both countries sit down together.
Trump said he’s talked about it with Putin, who he said was open to a meeting but wanted to host in Moscow. Trump said he rejected the idea on behalf of Zelenskyy.
Sitting across from Zelenskyy, Trump asked directly if he would meet in Moscow. The Ukrainian president answered with a quip.
“It’s difficult, there are a lot of Ukrainian drones there,” he said. “It’s dangerous.”
Trump has not only warmed to Zelenskyy but also Ukraine’s drone technology
As Trump was heaping praise on Zelenskyy and his country’s efforts in the war with Russia, he commended Ukraine’s use of drones to counter attacks and suggested the U.S. might buy the technology.
It’s a shift for Trump, who had previously been dismissive of Ukraine’s use of the low-cost but effective unmanned aircraft in the war and suggested the U.S. technology and tactics were superior.
Trump said Wednesday that the U.S. makes great drones, but it might buy from Ukraine because “they have an ability to make a lot of them” and called it “amazing.”
“It’s an amazing ability, very cheap,” he said.
“You’re very talented people,” he said to Zelenskyy. “So uh, yeah, I think we’re going to make that deal. You know, if we made that deal, we’d have great protection.”
Macron says Iran was ‘wrong’ to launch strikes
French President Emmanuel Macron said Iran was “wrong” to carry out the strikes on ships in the Strait of Hormuz that prompted a U.S. response, saying they violated the agreement Tehran had signed.
“I believe the Iranians were entirely in the wrong to carry out those strikes, which are contrary to the agreement they themselves signed,” Macron said.
Asked about the status of the ceasefire, Macron said the parties remain within the 60-day negotiation period established under the U.S.-Iran deal signed in June.
Macron said his understanding is that the meetings scheduled under that framework will continue to take place.
Trump threatens to strike Iran’s civilian infrastructure
President Trump threatened Wednesday to strike Iran’s civilian infrastructure and to seize Kharg Island, with its oil infrastructure, as his ceasefire with Tehran appeared to be in tatters.
Trump made the threats after announcing that the U.S. was preparing for a second night of strikes against Iran after Iranian attacks on American military sites in the Gulf.
If the U.S. has to, Trump said, it will take out Iran’s electric plants and desalinization plants. He said Tuesday’s strikes included attacks on Kharg Island but not its oil facilities.
“Maybe we’ll take over Kharg Island. We may take over Kharg Island. There’s not a thing they could do about it,” Trump said.
Rutte refuses to define NATO’s role in the Iran war
Rutte refused to say Wednesday whether NATO might play a role in the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.
“Obviously Iran is outside NATO territory,” Rutte said, but he added: “That doesn’t mean that NATO could never get involved.”
He said that “if helpful, NATO is always willing to play a role. But first now, let’s see what happens over the coming days and weeks.”
NATO prides itself as a defensive alliance focused on protecting the transatlantic area. Its last venture outside, into Afghanistan, ended in chaos and allies are reluctant to get drawn into any other war.
Britain and France are leading a separate international effort to help keep the Strait of Hormuz open once the fighting stops.
Kremlin warns Baltic nations will erode their own security if they host NATO’s nuclear weapons
Asked about Lithuanian lawmakers considering a measure that would remove a ban on the deployment of nuclear weapons in the Baltic nation following a similar move by Finland, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskov said Russia will have to take relevant steps to protect itself if any nuclear weapons are deployed to Baltic countries.
“Contrary to the expectations of the countries making such decisions, it will not strengthen their security,” Peskov said in a call with reporters. “On the contrary, it will significantly increase the level of danger they face, because countermeasures will be taken in relation to them to ensure protection of our interests.”
Last month, the Finnish Parliament voted to repeal a decades-old law that banned nuclear weapons from the country. The vote followed Helsinki’s 2023 decision to join NATO.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte says NATO welcomes Trump’s leadership
Rutte says NATO allies have “warmly welcomed” Trump’s leadership, even after the American president reopened old wounds over Greenland.
Rutte said Trump’s leadership “is transforming this alliance and making it stronger.”
“The message from this summit is simple. NATO delivers,” Rutte said after chairing the summit.
In a win for Ukraine, Trump says US will allow Patriot air defense missiles to be made overseas
President Trump said Wednesday that the U.S. will give a license for its Patriot air defense systems to be made overseas for Ukraine to counter Russian missile attacks, a huge coup for Ukraine which has badly needed the technology in the war that’s now in its fifth year.
Trump made the announcement as he met Wednesday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the NATO summit in Turkey, praising him as having “done an amazing job” and “been very effective” in the war.
“We’ll give them the right to make Patriots. We’ll show them how to do it,” Trump said.
Zelenskyy has long sought more of the defense systems, which are expensive, in high demand and take a long time to manufacture. He’s been pressing for Ukraine to be granted a license to manufacture the technology.
Trump says US is preparing for more strikes against Iran
The president said Wednesday that the U.S. is preparing for another night of strikes against Iran, just hours after he said the ceasefire was over.
“We hit them very hard last night,” Trump said when asked about a possible return to hostilities. “We’ll probably hit them hard again tonight.”
Trump made the remark in Ankara on the sidelines of the NATO summit. He said the strikes are continued retaliation for attacks on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
“They are behaving very badly,” he said of Iran, accusing the country of launching drones and a missile at ships.
Trump has warm remarks in meeting with Zelenskyy
Though the U.S. president and his Ukrainian counterpart had a tense encounter at the White House last year, Trump said Wednesday as he sat with Zelenskyy, “We’ve actually developed a good relationship. It’s hard to believe.”
He said Ukraine has a good future with “such great land, such great assets, such great people” and that they were going to have a good talk together.
He also called Russian President Vladimir Putin a “difficult character” and Zelenskyy “a difficult character.”
Details of the next NATO summit are up in the air
Albania has been left wondering about whether it will host NATO’s next summit and when.
The Balkans country had been due to host one in 2027. But instead of referencing that rendezvous on their end-of-summit declaration as they usually do, the NATO leaders on Wednesday only said “we look forward to our next meeting” without providing details.
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama is generally well liked by his fellow leaders, but some NATO allies have cooled on the idea of holding a summit in Albania given his country’s low rate of defense spending.
Other allies are reluctant to hold another meeting at the mercy of Trump and are considering moving away from annual summits.
NATO leaders also pledged more money for Ukraine’s defense
NATO leaders pledged to provide Ukraine with $80 billion to help meet its defense needs this year and next, noting “the long-term threat Russia poses to Euro-Atlantic security.”
They also underlined that “Iran must never have a nuclear weapon” and called on Tehran “to fully respect freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.”
NATO leaders reaffirm commitment to Article 5
NATO leaders reaffirmed their commitment to protect each other should any of them come under attack and said they’re working to make the alliance stronger by giving Europe more responsibility.
In a declaration after their summit in Ankara, the leaders said their resolve to defend each other under Article 5 of NATO’s treaty is “ironclad” and added “an attack on one is an attack on all.”
“We are building the future: A stronger Europe in a stronger NATO,” Trump and his counterparts wrote in the declaration.
The declaration comes after President Trump’s comments about a U.S. takeover of Greenland have rattled the military alliance.
US markets retreat, oil prices jump more than 5% after Trump says ceasefire with Iran is ‘over’
U.S. stock futures slid lower and oil prices surged more than 5% after President Trump said Wednesday that the interim agreement with Iran is over, though he’ll allow talks to continue.
Futures for the S&P 500 were down 0.7% before the opening bell, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 1%. Nasdaq futures were off 1.1%.
Trump made the comments following U.S. strikes on Iran that were a retaliation for attacks on three ships in the Strait of Hormuz. The price of Brent crude, the international standard, jumped $3.94 to $78.10 a barrel. U.S. benchmark crude surged $3.60 to $74.04 a barrel.
“For me, I think it’s over,” Trump responded when asked about the status of the ceasefire. “It’s just a waste of time dealing with them,” he said on the sidelines of the two-day NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey.
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Trump scheduled to host Lebanese president at White House
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun is scheduled to visit Trump on July 21, a White House official said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly announce it.
A statement from the Lebanese embassy in Washington said the leaders will discuss regional security and other topics of mutual interest.
The U.S. helped broker a ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel, and the issue has been a continued factor in negotiations toward the end of the war in Iran.
Lebanon likely to loom large in Trump-Sharaa meeting
Damascus and Washington have been tight-lipped about the agenda of Wednesday’s planned meeting between Trump and Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, but it’s likely that they will discuss Syria’s role in neighboring Lebanon.
Despite having once been an al-Qaida fighter, al-Sharaa has won Trump’s good graces, and Syria under him has restored long-shattered ties with the west.
Trump has several times publicly proposed that Syria should supplant Israel in combating the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. Al-Sharaa has said that he has no desire to intervene militarily in Lebanon. Syria remained on the sidelines of the regional war that erupted after the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran.
Trump and al-Sharaa will also likely discuss Syria’s relations with Israel, which is currently occupying a strip of southern Syria, while negotiations for a security agreement between the two countries have stalled.
Trump’s barbs are helping to draw Europe closer together
Trump’s attacks on Italy’s premier last month had an unintended consequence.
After Trump questioned Italy’s reliability as a wartime ally and claimed Giorgia Meloni had groveled for his attention, European leaders rallied to Meloni’s side, thawing what had been a frosty relationship over her hard-right political roots.
It was the latest example of how the often divisive American president is helping to draw Europe closer together.
This newfound European unity is already being tested in Turkey as Trump renews his attacks against NATO allies and claims that the U.S. should take over Greenland.
Turkey reveals its new military HQ
Turkey unveiled its new “Crescent and Star” military headquarters in Ankara to NATO defence ministers.
“This new headquarters complex will be fully operational soon and it will take its place among the largest military headquarters in the world,” Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler told his counterparts.
The design of the building, which is still under construction, replicates the image on Turkey’s flag when viewed from above.
“Being more than just a modern headquarters facility, it stands as a physical symbol of Turkey’s consolidated, agile and forward-looking defense posture,” Guler added.
Leaders meet behind closed doors for summit’s central discussion
The heads of NATO member countries gathered for a meeting that was originally scheduled to last three hours.
The meeting began with remarks from Erdogan and Rutte, with Trump seated to their right.
After the session, Trump is scheduled to have one-on-one meetings with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and then Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa.
Spain says relationship with US is ‘excellent’
In response to Trump’s comments, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s office said that Spain “maintains an excellent social, cultural, and economic relationship with the US, and we have no intention of seeing that change.”
The spokesperson said the Spanish government regarded such statements “as a matter of routine.”
The spokesperson referenced the U.S.’ trade surplus with Spain, and the fact that the European Union handles trade for the bloc’s 27 member countries.
Erdogan offers to assist Hormuz demining efforts
Erdogan says his country is prepared to contribute to demining efforts in the Strait of Hormuz.
The Turkish president made the remarks in a speech marking the opening of the summit he is hosting.
Earlier, Erdogan was seen in a huddle with Trump, joined by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Intelligence Chief Ibrahim Kalin.
Syrian president arrives in Ankara
As NATO member countries commenced their meeting in Ankara Wednesday, Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa arrived in the Turkish capital, Syrian state television reported.
It said al-Sharaa will “hold numerous meetings with world leaders” in addition to his scheduled bilateral meeting with Trump on the sidelines of the NATO summit.
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