Trump exerted 'maximum pressure' on Iran and Israel to 'deliver peace': Leavitt
President Trump exerted "maximum pressure" on Israel and Iran in an effort to "deliver peace" after his historic and decisive strikes decimated the Islamic Republic's nuclear facilities.
The president vowed throughout his 2024 campaign to reach "peace through strength," and he has taken steps in recent days to do just that, with an added pressure campaign on both Israel and Iran.
"President Trump directing the perfect execution of the most secretive and successful military strikes in history – and then negotiating a ceasefire to the war within 48 hours – is the epitome of peace through strength," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News Digital. "Nobody knows how to exert maximum pressure to deliver peace better than Donald Trump."
Trump, this week, participated in the NATO Summit in the Netherlands, where he was praised by allies for his decision to strike Iran's nuclear facilities.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte praised Trump as a "man of strength" and a "man of peace."
"I just want to recognize your decisive action on Iran," Rutte said at the start of his joint remarks with the president. "You are a man of strength, but you are also a man of peace. And the fact that you are now also successful in getting this ceasefire done between Israel and Iran – I really want to commend you for that. I think this is important for the whole world."
Rutte, on his social media, also congratulated the president for his "extraordinary" action in Iran, saying it was "something no one else dared to do."
"It makes us all safer," Rutte said.
The president also brokered a ceasefire between Israel and Iran, announcing Monday that the "12-Day War" was coming to an end – just over a week after Israel launched a preemptive strike, citing fears that Tehran was dangerously close to obtaining a nuclear weapon.
The two countries subsequently traded rocket fire over the following days, and over the weekend, the U.S. launched its own airstrikes on three of Iran's key nuclear facilities.
Iran responded by shooting rockets at a U.S. air base in Qatar on Monday, but not without giving advance notice to U.S. and Qatari officials. No injuries were reported in that attack.
The ceasefire had gotten off to an uncertain start, with the president unleashing frustration with both countries.
"I'm not happy with Israel. You know, when I say, OK, now you have 12 hours, you don't go out in the first hour and just drop everything you have on them. So I'm not happy with them. I'm not happy with Iran either, but I'm really unhappy if Israel is going out this morning," Trump said on Tuesday.
He continued, "We basically have two countries that have been fighting for so long and so hard that they don't know what the f--- they're doing."
"I'm gonna see if I can stop it," he added.
"ISRAEL. DO NOT DROP THOSE BOMBS. IF YOU DO IT IS A MAJOR VIOLATION. BRING YOUR PILOTS HOME, NOW!" Trump wrote on Truth Social shortly after boarding Marine One.
Minutes later, he announced that Israel was canceling its plans for an attack on Tuesday morning.
"ISRAEL is not going to attack Iran. All planes will turn around and head home, while doing a friendly 'Plane Wave' to Iran. Nobody will be hurt, the Ceasefire is in effect! Thank you for your attention to this matter!" he wrote.
Israel did not attack.
From the NATO summit, the president warned that the U.S. will strike Iran again if it attempts to rebuild its nuclear program.
And Trump's historic strikes in Iran have the Islamic Republic admitting that their nuclear facilities were decimated.
Assessments from the U.S., Israel and Iran agree the strikes were successful.
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