World News Updates: Trump orders Pentagon to cut back military exercises with South Korea
President Donald Trump waves to the media as he walks from Marine One to his limousine upon his arrival at the Ellipse just outside of the White House. (Photo: AP)
US President Donald Trump made two major foreign policy moves this weekend, both tied to the widening fallout from the US-Iran war. He praised the newly signed Mecca Joint Defence Agreement between Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Pakistan, calling it a “BIG, BOLD, IMPORTANT FIRST STEP” toward a more unified Middle East even as the region continues to absorb spillover violence, including Iran-backed Houthi rebel attacks. “Very happy to see that Saudi Arabia, Turkiye, and Pakistan have recently, and finally, signed the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, adding that it shows “how the Middle East is coming together, and how Countries will finally be able to defend themselves in a more meaningful way.”
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— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) August 16, 2026
Meanwhile, Trump moved on a very different front ordering the Pentagon to scale back planned joint military exercises with South Korea, after Seoul declined his request to help in efforts to denuclearize Iran. Trump said the drills, due to begin this week, would send a “totally inappropriate and hostile” signal to North Korea, which he described as having been “unthreatening and respectful” during his time in office. He said he’d instructed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to “substantially reduce” the exercises, even as he acknowledged it was too late to cancel them outright.
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