11 hours ago
Trump calls for Tehran to be evacuated
CALGARY, Alberta, Canada - U.S. President Donald Trump has announced he is leaving the G7 summit after just one day, and after refusing to sign a planned joint statement by the other G7 countries, calling for de-escalation in the Israel-Iran conflict.
Coinciding with the president's pending departure, which was announced on X, Mr Trump posted a warning to Iranian citizens to evacuate the country's capital on his own social media platform Truth Social.
"AMERICA FIRST means many GREAT things, including the fact that, IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!" Mr Trump said in an initial post.
In a follow-up post the U.S. president made the call for Tehran to be evacuated.
"Iran should have signed the "deal" I told them to sign," he said.
"What a shame, and waste of human life. Simply stated, IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON. I said it over and over again! Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran! the president posted.I
Iran's ambitions for nuclear weapons is hotly disputed, particularly by Iran which has consistently maintained it nuclear power program is for peaceful purposes only. The major party, worldwide, insisting that Iran has nuclear weapons is the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Speculation was rife Tuesday that the U.S. may join or support Israel in its ongoing conflict with Iran. This despite U.S. intelligence being at odds with Netanyahu's claims.
This could be another Iraq, all over again. The George Cheney administration took the U.S. and its allies to war against Iraq claiming it had weapons of mass destruction. The claim was false. Extensive searching following an invasion to unearth these weapons, failed to find any trace of them. They did no exist.
For more than 3 decades Netanyahu has been crying wolf over Iran, claiming it was on the verge of attaining nuclear weapons,.
Below is a collation of key statements he has made over the past 30 years (1993–2023), along with approximate dates and contexts where available.
1990s: Early Warnings
1993 – As Deputy Foreign Minister, Netanyahu warned in interviews that Iran was seeking nuclear weapons, calling it the "greatest threat to world peace."
"Iran is three to five years away from producing nuclear weapons… and the world must act now to prevent it."
1996 – In his book Fighting Terrorism , Netanyahu wrote:
"The ayatollahs in Tehran are hell-bent on acquiring nuclear weapons… They see nuclear arms as their shortcut to dominance in the Middle East."
2000s: Public Speeches & UN Warnings
2001 (Post-9/11) – Netanyahu, then out of office, argued in U.S. media that Iran, not just Iraq, was the real nuclear threat.
"Iran is developing nuclear weapons while the world is distracted."
2006 – As Leader of the Opposition, Netanyahu repeatedly accused Iran of accelerating its nuclear program.
"Iran is moving full steam ahead toward nuclear weapons… The world cannot afford to wait."
2009 (UN Speech) – In his first major address as PM at the UN, Netanyahu held up a diagram of a bomb and said:
"This is what Iran is doing. They are building nuclear weapons."
2010s: "Red Line" at the UN & Nuclear Deal Opposition
2012 (UN "Red Line" Speech) – Netanyahu famously drew a red line on a cartoon bomb, warning:
"By next summer, Iran will have enough enriched uranium for a bomb. The world must stop Iran before it's too late."
2015 (Opposition to JCPOA) – Netanyahu called the Iran nuclear deal a "historic mistake":
"This deal doesn't block Iran's path to the bomb; it paves it." (Speech to U.S. Congress, March 2015)
2018 (Presentation on Iran's Nuclear Archive) – Netanyahu revealed seized Iranian documents, claiming:
"Iran lied about never having a nuclear weapons program. Here's the proof."
2020s: "Sanctions Must Stay" & "Iran is Nearing the Threshold"
2020 – Netanyahu warned that Iran was "weeks away" from having enough fissile material for a bomb:
"They're enriching uranium at levels only needed for weapons."
2021–2023 – As Iran advanced uranium enrichment to 60%, Netanyahu repeatedly stated:
"Iran is on the brink of nuclear weapons… Israel reserves the right to act." (2023 CNN interview)
Key Patterns in Netanyahu's Rhetoric:
Consistency: He has maintained for 30+ years that Iran seeks nukes, often citing intelligence.
Visual Props: Used diagrams (2009 bomb cartoon, 2018 nuclear archive) to dramatize claims.
Diplomatic Pressure: Urged sanctions, opposed the JCPOA, and pushed for preemptive action.
