Trump reaffirms NATO Article 5 in The Hague, likens Hiroshima to Iran strikes

He made these remarks during a press briefing at the NATO summit in The Hague, according to The Guardian.

When asked whether the U.S. would intervene in the event of an attack on a NATO member, Trump replied: “We are with them all the way.”

Article 5 of the NATO treaty concerns mutual security guarantees within the Alliance. According to this article, an armed attack against one or more NATO allies in Europe or North America is considered an attack against them all.

Ahead of the NATO summit in The Hague, Trump had declined to clearly answer whether he supports U.S. obligations under Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty to defend allies in the event of aggression against any of them. He said that there are “numerous definitions” of the article and promised to give his own definition after arriving in The Hague.

When asked whether the U.S. would strike again if Iran resumed its uranium enrichment program, Trump answered: “Sure.” He added that the U.S. strike on Iran’s nuclear program facilities was devastating and delayed the program’s progress by decades.

In addition, Trump drew parallels between the U.S. strikes on Iran and America’s decision to drop atomic bombs on Japan during World War II.

“They spent trillions of dollars trying to do this thing, and they didn’t come up with it, and we’re actually getting along with them very well right now. But had we not succeeded with that hit? That hit ended the war. That hit ended the war. I don’t want to use an example of Hiroshima, I don’t want to use an example of Nagasaki, but that was essentially the same thing that ended that war. This ended that, this ended that war,” Trump said while speaking in The Hague.

• On Tuesday, June 24, the NATO summit began in The Hague. The event gathers leaders from 32 NATO member states and partners. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held meetings with the NATO Secretary General, the Dutch Prime Minister, U.S. Congress senators, and the President of France.
• During the summit, a meeting between the presidents of Ukraine and the United States is expected to take place. Trump confirmed he will speak with Zelenskyy at the NATO summit.
• Volodymyr Zelenskyy, attending the NATO summit in The Hague, wore a classic black suit for the first time since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, instead of his usual military-style clothing.