Trump meets with NATO leader amid talk of pulling out of the military alliance

[0:00] The White House briefing today taking reporters on the closing of the Straits of Hormuz and that was the topic most of the session. [0:08] Keep in mind, the market then closed, I mean rather the strait closed just minutes before the briefing began. [0:14] That led to questions about the stability of that ceasefire deal with Iran as keeping it open was one of the president's key demands. [0:21] Scripps News senior White House reporter and producer Jacob Gardenschwartz was inside the briefing room today and he's live now on the North Lawn. [0:27] And Jacob, there has been a lot of confusion about the ceasefire in just the past 24 hours. [0:32] Tell us what you're hearing now about the current situation. [0:35] Yeah, good evening, Del. [0:38] Well, as this first full day with the ceasefire in place draws to a close, there are still a lot of unanswered questions. [0:45] What the ceasefire covers, what steps Iran must take to remain in compliance, how Israel factors into all of it. [0:52] But let's start with what we do know. [0:54] Last night around 6.45 p.m., President Trump announced that both the United States and Iran had agreed to a temporary two-week ceasefire to stave off his threat, in his own words, to end the Iranian civilization. [1:07] Now, Pakistan's prime minister was originally the one who proposed this two-week ceasefire, at least publicly. [1:13] Pakistan, of course, serving as a key mediator between the U.S. and Iran throughout this conflict. [1:17] And when the prime minister, Pakistan's prime minister, announced the deal in his own post, he said that it included, quote, an immediate ceasefire everywhere, including Lebanon and elsewhere. [1:28] Despite that, we have seen Israel continue to bomb Lebanon throughout last night and into today. [1:34] IDF officials claiming that they are targeting Hezbollah and other Iran-backed groups in the region, [1:39] though Iran and, of course, Lebanese officials not particularly pleased with those continued strikes. [1:45] Now, the White House claims that Lebanon was never actually covered by the ceasefire agreement and that Israel is free to continue what it's doing as it wishes. [1:54] They also say that Iran has agreed to a number of terms, abandoning its plan to pursue nuclear weapons, turning over any enriched uranium that it already has in its possession, [2:05] and, as you noted, opening the Strait of Hormuz. [2:07] Yet state media, they're reporting that that strait remains closed, in part due to Israel's continued attacks on Lebanon. [2:15] Officials throughout the day, posting various comments quite critical of the current situation. [2:21] The foreign minister saying that the United States has a choice, quote, ceasefire or continued war via Israel. [2:27] It cannot have both. [2:28] Another senior Iranian official said to be among those who have been directly involved in these negotiations, [2:34] the Speaker of Iran's Parliament, pointing to three alleged violations of the ceasefire in just these first 24 hours. [2:41] Of course, Israel's continued strikes on Lebanon, reports of a drone entering Iranian airspace. [2:47] No understanding at this point at all whose drone that was, where it came from. [2:52] And also, Iran's inability to continue pursuing nuclear enrichment, something that Iran claims it wants to do for civilian energy purposes. [3:01] Now, that leader's statement concluding, quote, the basis on which to negotiate has been openly and clearly violated, [3:08] even before the official negotiations began. [3:10] In such situations, a bilateral ceasefire or negotiations is unreasonable. [3:15] This is just a few days before Vice President J.D. Vance was set to travel to Pakistan for further negotiations with Iranian officials directly. [3:23] The Vice President asked earlier today about all of this, about the Lebanon factor and where the ceasefire stands. [3:29] Here's what he had to say. [3:31] Look, if Iran wants to let this negotiation fall apart in a conflict where they were getting hammered over Lebanon, [3:38] which has nothing to do with them and which the United States never once said was part of the ceasefire, [3:44] that's ultimately their choice. [3:45] We think that would be dumb, but that's their choice. [3:48] Those remarks from the Vice President, as we believe this trip to Islamabad for the talks set to begin Saturday, are still on. [3:59] Though, again, these statements from Iranian officials calling that into question, [4:02] we have asked the White House multiple times this afternoon to respond to the Iranian claims, [4:07] whether these negotiations will still take place this weekend. [4:10] At this point, radio silence. [4:12] Del? [4:13] Jacob, what do we know about that meeting that took place today between the White House and NATO Secretary General Mark Ruta? [4:21] Yeah, well, as this is all playing out, the President meeting behind closed doors with the Secretary General of NATO, [4:27] that meeting kicked off about 3.30 p.m., we believe it wrapped up just about 5 or 10 minutes ago [4:33] because there was a Marine typically stationed outside the West Wing doors, [4:37] indicating that the President is in the Oval Office. [4:40] That Marine switched out just a short time ago, so we believe the meeting may have been wrapped up, [4:45] though at this point we have not gotten any indications as to how that meeting went. [4:49] Of course, this comes as the President has continued to lob significant criticisms [4:53] against our NATO allies for their refusal to directly engage militarily in this conflict. [4:59] Earlier, shortly before the meeting, Press Secretary Caroline Levitt delivering a statement [5:03] said to be directly from the President as to what he was thinking about heading into this meeting. [5:08] Here's what she had to say. [5:10] I have a direct quote from the President of the United States on NATO, [5:13] and I will share it with all of you. [5:14] They were tested and they failed. [5:17] And I would add, it's quite sad that NATO turned their backs on the American people [5:20] over the course of the last six weeks when it's the American people [5:23] who have been defunding their defense. [5:30] Now, again, we have not yet heard from the White House since this meeting began today, [5:34] certainly watching to see what sort of outcomes they announced. [5:38] We did hear from some of our NATO allies earlier this morning [5:41] in a statement celebrating the ceasefire. [5:43] That statement noted that, quote, [5:44] our governments will contribute to ensuring freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, [5:49] though, again, many questions about what that sort of contribution looks like. [5:53] Will that simply be, you know, political support, sending warships to the region? [5:58] Really anyone's question now. [6:00] One last topic, just notable considering the high stakes of this meeting, [6:05] the press secretary confirming that the president does intend to discuss his threat [6:09] to pull the United States out of NATO with the secretary general. [6:12] That's not something he could do unilaterally. [6:14] He would require Congress, but there are many actions he could take [6:17] to weaken our engagement with the alliance. [6:19] Again, a lot of high stakes as the ceasefire hangs in the balance, [6:22] and now perhaps our involvement in the Western Defense Pact, though. [6:26] Our senior White House producer and reporter Jacob Gardenshwartz on the North Lawn. [6:30] Jacob, thank you very much.