President Trump arrived Tuesday at the NATO summit fighting to maintain a fragile Middle East ceasefire and tamp down questions about the extent of damage U.S. airstrikes caused to Iran’s nuclear capabilities.
Mr. Trump reportedly told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to expect further U.S. military intervention after the Saturday attack on Iran’s Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan nuclear enrichment facilities. The president also sent a stern public message to Israel, ordering the country to call back its planes and adhere to the ceasefire it appeared to be violating by continuing to strike Iran.
“Israel. Do not drop these bombs,” Mr. Trump posted on his Truth Social media site in all caps. “Bring your pilots home, now!”
On the way to NATO, an angry Mr. Trump dropped an f-bomb on live television while stopping to speak to reporters before boarding Marine One on the White House lawn.
Israel and Iran were continuing to launch missiles and drone attacks at each other hours after the president announced a “complete and total ceasefire.”
“We basically have two countries that have been fighting so long and so hard that they don’t know what the f—- they’re doing,” Mr. Trump, a former New York City real estate developer, said to reporters as he left the White House.
A calmer Mr. Trump arrived hours later in the Netherlands for a NATO summit during a critical moment for his global leadership.
Before landing, the president posted on social media a message from NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte praising his “decisive action in Iran,” which has been a destabilizing force in the region for decades. Mr. Rutte predicted the president’s success in persuading NATO allies to raise their security contributions to 5% of gross domestic product, which is a focus of the summit.
“You will achieve something NO American president in decades could get done,” Mr. Rutte wrote to Mr. Trump. “Europe is going to pay in a BIG way, as they should, and it will be your win.”
In Washington, dozens of House Democrats voted in a failed attempt to advance articles of impeachment against Mr. Trump for launching the strikes without first seeking congressional approval, even though Presidents Clinton and Obama bombed overseas targets unilaterally.
Democrats were seething at a White House decision to postpone a closed-door briefing on the impact of the Iran strikes scheduled for Tuesday.
The Senate briefing was moved to Thursday, and the House briefing was moved to Friday so that Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who are attending the NATO summit with Mr. Trump, can attend.
Democrats did not accept the explanation.
“They’re bobbing and weaving and ducking. Senators deserve full transparency,” said Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat. “There is a legal obligation for this administration to inform Congress about precisely what is happening. What are they afraid of?”
Several unidentified sources with access to the intelligence leaked their interpretation to several news outlets. They said the strikes set back Iran’s nuclear capabilities by only a few months, in stark contrast with Mr. Trump’s claims that U.S. bombs and missiles had “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear sites.
Mr. Hegseth denied the anonymous claim.
“Based on everything we have seen, and I’ve seen it all, our bombing campaign obliterated Iran’s ability to create nuclear weapons,” Mr. Hegseth said. “Our massive bombs hit exactly the right spot at each target and worked perfectly.”
Mr. Hegseth noted that the impact site is buried under a mountain of rubble, which means the United States has yet to fully understand the damage caused by U.S. bombs.
“Anyone who says the bombs were not devastating is just trying to undermine the president and the success of the mission,” Mr. Hegseth said.
Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, has called for access to the damaged sites. He said the U.S. bombs set back Iran’s nuclear capabilities “significantly.” He noted visible craters at Fordo, the main enrichment site, but said “no one, including IAEA, is in a position to have fully assessed the underground damage at Fordo.”
The ceasefire Mr. Trump brokered was holding Tuesday evening.
Iranian and Israeli leaders pledged to respect the agreement, signaling the possibility of a sustainable peace in the region.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said his country would respect the terms of the ceasefire if Israel did the same.
“If the Zionist regime does not violate the ceasefire, Iran will not violate it either,” Mr. Pezeshkian said, according to Iranian state media.
• Mallory Wilson contributed to this report.
