Spain reached a deal with NATO to be excluded from a 5% of GDP defense spending target, days before the military alliance's leaders will gather at a summit, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said on Sunday.

NATO members agreed to a big increase in their defence spending target to 5% of gross domestic product, as demanded by President Donald Trump, but Spain said it did not need to comply just days before a summit in The Hague meant to be a show of unity.

The NATO leaders were meeting against the backdrop of heightened tensions in the Middle East. Trump yesterday declared a ceasefire between Iran and Israel, after a week that saw the US target Iranian nuclear sites and Iran retaliate with a telegraphed move on a US air base in Qatar.