A NATO summit was held in Ankara, Turkey, bringing together the leaders of the Alliance's member countries. The summit, which concluded without major diplomatic incidents, addressed issues including increased military spending by allied countries, the ongoing military escalation between the United States and Iran, and relations between Washington and its European partners.

During the closing press conference, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni outlined three areas where she did not intend to change her position vis-a-vis the requests of US President Donald Trump: military spending, the new US raids on Iran, and US military bases in Italy. Meloni said she would not change her stance on the bases and called for defense spending to be "sustainable," with a preference for weapons purchased domestically. She also distanced herself from Iran.

The summit took place against a backdrop of military escalation between the US and Iran. US forces, on Trump's orders, conducted raids against some 80 to 90 targets in Iranian territory, hitting air defense systems, command networks, and Pasdaran vessels, according to the US Central Command. The attacks were described as a response to assaults on merchant ships in the Strait of Hormuz attributed to Iran. Iran's Revolutionary Guards responded by firing missiles at US military installations in Bahrain and Kuwait, with air raid sirens heard in both countries. Trump declared the ceasefire with Iran over and announced further raids, using harsh language toward the Iranian leadership. Strait of Hormuz maritime traffic was severely disrupted, with Iran saying the strait would only open under its conditions. The US said Iran's attacks were intercepted or caused no harm, while reporting at least eight Iranian soldiers killed.

On the sidelines of the summit, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte defended the US raids as a response to a violated ceasefire, while the United Nations, through Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, and Pakistan, acting as mediator, called for restraint. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there were "erroneous assessments" regarding long-range missiles but expressed appreciation for the commitment to a diplomatic solution.

The summit's host, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, gave each attending leader a pistol engraved with their name, along with a box of ammunition. The gift was first disclosed by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to journalists on his return flight to London. Starmer, German Chancellor Merz, and Dutch Prime Minister Jetten chose to leave the pistols in Turkey. Canadian Prime Minister Carney took his without bullets. Meloni brought the weapon to Italy, where it was registered at Palazzo Chigi as an official gift, as required for all presents received by the prime minister.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Israel shared new intelligence with the United States about an alleged Iranian plan to target Trump. The US president himself, speaking to journalists in Turkey, had alluded to threats against him, saying he considered himself "number one on the list." After the summit, Trump changed aircraft for his return trip, though he did not officially confirm the reason.

Funerals for Iran's former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei concluded after six days. According to Iran's Fars News agency, the ceremony drew more than 40 million participants and briefly extended into Iraqi territory.

Technical talks between the US and Iran on the nuclear dossier reportedly continued despite the escalation, according to a US official cited by CNN. The official reiterated that Iran could never obtain a nuclear weapon and described attacks on civilian vessels as "acts of terrorism."