Trump announces US, Iran to talk next week

US President Donald Trump addressed the media on the sidelines of the NATO summit in the Netherlands, praising the outcome of the conference and defending his administration’s recent military actions in the Middle East.

Describing the NATO summit as “very wonderful,” Trump said he had productive engagements with allied leaders and lauded the alliance for increasing collective defense spending. “Our allies have increased their defense budgets by $700 billion. They should continue investing more in military equipment,” Trump said.

The US president claimed credit for helping end the 12-day conflict between Iran and Israel, calling the ceasefire a “huge success.” He said both nations were “tired and exhausted” and insisted that a return to war was unlikely -- though not impossible. 

“The way I look at it they fought, the war is done,” he said, adding that Israel and Iran were “tired”, but the conflict between the two countries could start again. 

“I dealt with both, and they’re both tired, exhausted … and can it start again? I guess someday it can. It could maybe start soon.”