Trump Orders Iran Strikes from NATO Summit in Turkey

President Donald Trump authorized a new round of military operations targeting Iran while attending the NATO summit in Turkey, according to reporting from Axios.

The decision came after Iran attacked three commercial ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz, which Washington blamed on Tehran. Trump gave final approval for the strikes during his time in Ankara, where he convened a high-level meeting with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, State Secretary Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Besent, and General Dan Kean, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, along with other senior officials.

The timing of the authorization coincided with growing friction at the NATO gathering, where Trump leveled criticism at Britain, France, Germany, and Italy for what he characterized as inadequate backing for American interests regarding Iran policy.

According to a senior U.S. official cited by Axios, the military operations proved substantially more extensive than strikes conducted roughly ten days earlier, with the current campaign measuring four to five times larger in scope and intensity.

The operations focused on Iranian military capabilities, striking air defense installations, coastal surveillance infrastructure, surface-to-air missile systems, anti-ship cruise missile deployment sites, unmanned aircraft launch facilities, and port infrastructure.

U.S. Central Command justified the campaign as a response to the Iranian attacks on commercial shipping, stating the strikes aimed to impose significant consequences on Tehran for targeting vessels in international waters.

The operations produced explosions detected across multiple Iranian locations, including Bandar Abbas, Sirik, and Qeshm Island, according to Iranian state media accounts. The escalation marks a significant intensification in the volatile standoff between Washington and Tehran.