Trump departing G7 early as conflict between Israel and Iran shows signs of intensifying
President Donald Trump is abruptly leaving the Group of Seven summit, departing a day early on Monday, June 16, as the conflict between Israel and Iran intensifies and the US leader has declared that Tehran should be evacuated "immediately."
World leaders had gathered in Canada with the specific goal of helping to defuse a series of global pressure points, only to be disrupted by a showdown over Iran's nuclear program that could escalate in dangerous and uncontrollable ways. Israel launched an aerial bombardment campaign against Iran four days ago.
At the summit, Trump warned that Tehran needs to curb its nuclear program before it's "too late." He said Iranian leaders would "like to talk" but they had already had 60 days to reach an agreement on their nuclear ambitions and failed to do so before the Israeli aerial assault began. "They have to make a deal," he said. Asked what it would take for the US to get involved in the conflict militarily, Trump said Monday morning, "I don't want to talk about that."
But by Monday afternoon, Trump warned ominously on social media, "Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!" Shortly after that, Trump decided to leave the summit and skip a series of Tuesday meetings that would address the ongoing war in Ukraine and global trade issues.
"Much was accomplished, but because of what's going on in the Middle East, President Trump will be leaving tonight after dinner with Heads of State," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt posted on social media.
Iran 'is not winning this war'
The sudden departure only heightened the drama of a world that seems on verge of several firestorms. Trump already has hit several dozen nations with severe tariffs that risk a global economic slowdown. There has been little progress on settling the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. But in a deeper sense, Trump saw a better path in the United States taking solitary action, rather than in building a consensus with the other G7 nations of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz held an hour-long informal meeting soon after arriving at the summit late Sunday to discuss the widening conflict in the Mideast, Starmer's office said. And Merz told reporters that Germany was planning to draw up a final communique proposal on the Israel-Iran conflict that will stress that "Iran must under no circumstances be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons-capable material."
The European leaders wanted to help de-escalate the situation, rather than enflame it in ways that could spread through the Middle East in unpredictable ways.
Trump, for his part, said Iran "is not winning this war. And they should talk and they should talk immediately before it's too late."
But by early Monday evening, as he planned to depart Kananaskis and the Canadian Rocky Mountains, Trump seemed willing to push back against his own supporters who believe the US should embrace a more isolationist approach to world affairs. It was a sign of the heightened military, political and economic stakes in a situation evolving faster than the summit could process.
"AMERICA FIRST means many GREAT things, including the fact that, IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!" Trump posted on Truth Social, his social media platform.
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