Trump demands Greenland, orders Iran strikes as NATO summit opens in Ankara

A spectacle on the tarmac

President Trump touched down in Ankara on Tuesday afternoon to a reception unmatched for any other leader: President Recep Tayyip Erdogan greeted him on the tarmac, cavalry on horseback, cannon fire, and fighter jets trailing red, white and blue smoke. The welcome set the tone for a summit where, as Senator Mike Rounds put it, Trump "takes all the oxygen out of the room for everybody else."

Greenland again

Within hours, Trump repeated his desire to annex Greenland, a territory of NATO ally Denmark. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, also in Ankara, told journalists the kingdom's position was unchanged.

Greenland is, of course, not for sale.

Trump also berated European allies for refusing to join the US and Israel in the war against Iran, singling out Italy, Germany and France. His feud with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has dominated Italian front pages for weeks.

Iran conflict escalates

On Tuesday night, the president ordered American forces to bomb more than 80 targets in Iran and revoked a waiver allowing Iranian oil sales, retaliation for what the Pentagon said were Iranian strikes on three commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran's armed forces responded on Wednesday by attacking dozens of US military sites in Bahrain and Kuwait. The renewed hostilities threaten energy supplies through the strait and underscore the fragility of the ceasefire there.

Spending push and alliance tensions

NATO officials had hoped to focus the summit on defence budgets. Secretary General Mark Rutte highlighted that core European defence spending rose 11 percent in 2026 to $634 billion, up from $571 billion a year earlier, and allies unveiled tens of billions in new arms contracts on Tuesday. The alliance has committed to spending 5 percent of GDP on defence by 2035.

Trump, however, continued to castigate members as "delinquent" and questioned the Article 5 mutual defence pledge. A draft leaders' statement reaffirms that commitment, calls Russia a long-term threat, and states that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon. Officials hope the short, six-point text will avoid a repeat of the blowups that marred Trump's second NATO summit.

Ukraine and the road ahead

Trump said he believed both Russia and Ukraine "want to make a deal" to end the war, a topic also on the agenda. Some attendees saw positive signals: former NATO official Giedrimas Jeglinskas noted that Trump's mere presence in Ankara sends a message of reassurance, and that the summit declaration "touches on all the right themes."