Trump Approved Military Strikes on Iran from Ankara During NATO Summit

While attending the NATO summit in Turkey, President Donald Trump issued orders for new military strikes against Iran, according to Axios.

The website reported that Trump approved the strike plan and gave the green light to execute it from Ankara, following attacks on three commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, which Washington attributed to Iran.

In Ankara, Trump held a meeting that included Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Peasent, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Keen, and other U.S. officials.

The decision to launch the strikes came amid the NATO summit, which was marked by sharp disagreements between Washington and several European allies over the conflict with Iran. Trump criticized Britain, France, Germany, and Italy for what he considered insufficient support for the United States.

Axios cited a senior U.S. official stating that the strikes carried out by the U.S. military were four to five times larger in scale and force compared to previous raids conducted about ten days earlier.

The targets included Iranian air defense systems, coastal surveillance installations, surface-to-air missile sites, cruise missile launch locations aimed at ships, drone launch facilities, and port infrastructure.

The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) stated that the strikes were a response to Iranian attacks on three commercial ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, aiming to impose "heavy costs" on Tehran for targeting commercial navigation.

The raids coincided with reported explosions heard in Bandar Abbas, Sirik, and Qeshm Island, according to official Iranian media, marking a new escalation that threatens the fragile calm between Washington and Tehran.