The Iran crisis has dominated a Nato summit in The Hague with US President Donald Trump saying the US had “obliterated” Tehran's nuclear programme and praising a historic boost in allied defence spending.
Revealing that the US and Iran were prepared for talks next week, the US leader said his strikes had brought Tehran to the table. “They've had it,” Mr Trump said, referring to Iran. “We think [the nuclear material] is covered with granite, concrete and steel.
“We’re going to talk to them next week – with Iran – we may sign an agreement. I don’t know, to me, I don’t think it’s necessary.
“The way I look at it, they fought, the war is done,” he said.
Mr Trump added Iran would not go back “into the nuclear business” any time soon. He cited a statement from the Israel Atomic Energy Commission that said Iran faced a setback of “many years”.
Speaking alongside Mr Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US was ready to engage in direct negotiations with Iran. “It depends on Iran's willingness to discuss directly with the US, not through a third or fourth party,” Mr Rubio said.
Praise for ceasefire
The summit spotlight saw Mr Trump compared his intervention in Iran to the US dropping nuclear bombs on Japanese cities to end the Second World War.
The knock-on consequences of the Iranian-Israeli ceasefire are still being worked out but the US leader said he hoped it would make it easier to end the offensive in Gaza. Efforts to broker a ceasefire and the return of hostages are said to have intensified in recent hours.
During the summit Nato secretary general Mark Rutte repeatedly complimented Mr Trump's involvement in the Iran crisis. “You are a man of strength and also a man of peace,” Mr Rutte said. “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.”
Defence spending boost
Allies endorsed a goal of five per cent of GDP annually that will lead to the spending of trillions of dollars on defence in the next decade, following pressure from Mr Trump, who described the move as a “very historic milestone”.
“It’s a monumental win to the United States because we were carrying way more than our fair share [of spending]. It was quite unfair actually,” Mr Trump said. “This is a big win for Europe and, actually, for western civilisation.
“We’re here to help them protect their country.”
Unease over Mr Trump's unwillingness to restate to Nato's mutual defence pact, known as Article 5, was addressed by the closing statement's reference to an ironclad commitment to the pact.
“I stand with it, that’s why I’m here,” Mr Trump said, one day after saying there were 'numerous definitions of Article 5'. “If I didn’t stand with it, I wouldn’t be here,” he added.
Europeans succeeded in locking in Mr Trump's continued support for the alliance, which he has repeatedly criticised. To accommodate his lack of appetite for long talks, the meeting of heads of state lasted less than three hours, and, at just one page, the final statement was shorter than usual.
“We reaffirm our ironclad commitment to collective defence as enshrined in Article 5 of the Washington Treaty – that an attack on one is an attack on all,” read the statement. “Allies commit to invest five per cent of GDP annually on core defence requirements as well as defence and security-related spending by 2035.”
Mr Trump met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after the Nato leaders reaffirmed their commitment to supporting his country in the war with Russia. Unlike previous years, Mr Zelenskyy was not invited to the closed-door meeting of the Nato members.
In a post on social media, Mr Zelenskyy said he had discussed buying US air-defence systems with Mr Trump during their meeting, adding that Kyiv was “ready to buy this equipment and support American weapons manufacturers”.
Support for Ukraine
Language in the final communique on Russia, described in last year's summit as “the most direct and significant threat” to allies, was also watered down to a “long-term threat”. This comes in line with Mr Trump who has a difficult relationship with Mr Zelenskyy but has often spoken warmly of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The statement made no mention of China or Iran.
Europeans insisted that Nato is committed to supporting Ukraine. The position among the alliance has “not changed on Ukraine”, said UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Mr Rutte said that the 5 per cent endorsement was a defeat for Mr Putin. “He cannot be very happy, and he should not be very happy,” he said, adding that military aid to Ukraine would be more than last year's $50 billion.
Mr Rutte also attempted to dispel fears over US commitment to Article 5, telling Europeans and Canadians to “stop worrying” about it.
Pushback
But some countries, including Belgium and Spain, have expressed reservations about the new spending goals, leading to anger from Mr Trump. He singled out Spain and promised to retaliate in trade negotiations.
Spain has contended that it can fulfil its commitments to Nato by spending less than 3.5 per cent of GDP expenditure on hard defence – an argument that has been rejected by Mr Rutte.
Belgium joined in, with Prime Minister Bart de Wever saying that achieving the 3.5 per cent of GDP goal was a “matter of interpretation”.
“If Spain can do it by spending less money, then others should follow,” Mr de Wever said. “We’ll certainly also try to achieve our capability targets and if possible spend less than 3.5 per cent of our GDP,” he said.
Spain's resistance was criticised by Mr Trump who said: “They want a little bit of a free ride, but they’ll have to pay it back to us on trade.”
Almost one third of Nato allies have yet to reach a 2 per cent goal set a decade ago. Only three countries – Lithuania, Latvia and Poland – spend more than 3.5 per cent on defence. Canada is among those unlikely to hit that figure. This month, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Canada would reach the 2 per cent spending target by 2030.
In contrast, Germany said it would reach 3.5 per cent by 2029, six years before the deadline.
“We do not take these decisions to please anyone, but we act out of our own conviction that Nato as a whole, in particular the European part of Nato, must do more in the coming years to make sure we can defend ourselves,” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Wayne Rooney's career
Everton (2002-2004)
- Appearances: 48
- Goals: 17
Manchester United (2004-2017)
- Appearances: 496
- Goals: 253
England (2003-)
- Appearances: 119
- Goals: 53
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Look north
BBC business reporters, like a new raft of government officials, are being removed from the national and international hub of London and surely the quality of their work must suffer.
Keane on …
Liverpool’s Uefa Champions League bid: “They’re great. With the attacking force they have, for me, they’re certainly one of the favourites. You look at the teams left in it - they’re capable of scoring against anybody at any given time. Defensively they’ve been good, so I don’t see any reason why they couldn’t go on and win it.”
Mohamed Salah’s debut campaign at Anfield: “Unbelievable. He’s been phenomenal. You can name the front three, but for him on a personal level, he’s been unreal. He’s been great to watch and hopefully he can continue now until the end of the season - which I’m sure he will, because he’s been in fine form. He’s been incredible this season.”
Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s instant impact at former club LA Galaxy: “Brilliant. It’s been a great start for him and for the club. They were crying out for another big name there. They were lacking that, for the prestige of LA Galaxy. And now they have one of the finest stars. I hope they can go win something this year.”
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
The specs: 2018 Ford Mustang GT
Price, base / as tested: Dh204,750 / Dh241,500
Engine: 5.0-litre V8
Gearbox: 10-speed automatic
Power: 460hp @ 7,000rpm
Torque: 569Nm @ 4,600rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 10.3L / 100km
What are the influencer academy modules?
- Mastery of audio-visual content creation.
- Cinematography, shots and movement.
- All aspects of post-production.
- Emerging technologies and VFX with AI and CGI.
- Understanding of marketing objectives and audience engagement.
- Tourism industry knowledge.
- Professional ethics.
The%20specs%3A%202024%20Mercedes%20E200
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Expert advice
“Join in with a group like Cycle Safe Dubai or TrainYAS, where you’ll meet like-minded people and always have support on hand.”
Stewart Howison, co-founder of Cycle Safe Dubai and owner of Revolution Cycles
“When you sweat a lot, you lose a lot of salt and other electrolytes from your body. If your electrolytes drop enough, you will be at risk of cramping. To prevent salt deficiency, simply add an electrolyte mix to your water.”
Cornelia Gloor, head of RAK Hospital’s Rehabilitation and Physiotherapy Centre
“Don’t make the mistake of thinking you can ride as fast or as far during the summer as you do in cooler weather. The heat will make you expend more energy to maintain a speed that might normally be comfortable, so pace yourself when riding during the hotter parts of the day.”
Chandrashekar Nandi, physiotherapist at Burjeel Hospital in Dubai
ORDER OF PLAY ON SHOW COURTS
Centre Court - 4pm (UAE)
Gael Monfils (15) v Kyle Edmund
Karolina Pliskova (3) v Magdalena Rybarikova
Dusan Lajovic v Roger Federer (3)
Court 1 - 4pm
Adam Pavlasek v Novak Djokovic (2)
Dominic Thiem (8) v Gilles Simon
Angelique Kerber (1) v Kirsten Flipkens
Court 2 - 2.30pm
Grigor Dimitrov (13) v Marcos Baghdatis
Agnieszka Radwanska (9) v Christina McHale
Milos Raonic (6) v Mikhail Youzhny
Tsvetana Pironkova v Caroline Wozniacki (5)
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Zayed Sustainability Prize
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
CONFIRMED%20LINE-UP
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Four motivational quotes from Alicia's Dubai talk
“The only thing we need is to know that we have faith. Faith and hope in our own dreams. The belief that, when we keep going we’re going to find our way. That’s all we got.”
“Sometimes we try so hard to keep things inside. We try so hard to pretend it’s not really bothering us. In some ways, that hurts us more. You don’t realise how dishonest you are with yourself sometimes, but I realised that if I spoke it, I could let it go.”
“One good thing is to know you’re not the only one going through it. You’re not the only one trying to find your way, trying to find yourself, trying to find amazing energy, trying to find a light. Show all of yourself. Show every nuance. All of your magic. All of your colours. Be true to that. You can be unafraid.”
“It’s time to stop holding back. It’s time to do it on your terms. It’s time to shine in the most unbelievable way. It’s time to let go of negativity and find your tribe, find those people that lift you up, because everybody else is just in your way.”
UAE v Ireland
1st ODI, UAE win by 6 wickets
2nd ODI, January 12
3rd ODI, January 14
4th ODI, January 16
