On Tuesday, the 17th of June, Israel and Iran attacked each other for the fifth consecutive day, and US President Donald Trump called on Iranians to evacuate Tehran. Meanwhile, G7 leaders called for “de-escalation of military activity in the Middle East, including a ceasefire in Gaza,” but stressed that Iran must never have nuclear weapons, according to Reuters and the British broadcaster BBC.
In a joint statement, the G7 leaders also reaffirmed their “commitment to ensuring peace and stability” in the region, adding that in this context “Israel has the right to defend itself” and that they “reaffirm their support for Israel’s security”.
“Iran is the main source of regional instability and terrorism. We have consistently made clear that Iran must never have nuclear weapons,” the statement said.
Trump has repeatedly called on Iran to abandon its nuclear ambitions.
“Iran should have signed the “deal” that I told them to sign. What a shame and waste of life. Simply put, IRAN CANNOT HAVE NUCLEAR WEAPONS. I have said this repeatedly! Everyone should get out of Tehran immediately!” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social on Monday.
Trump also said earlier at the summit that it was a “big mistake” to exclude Russia from the former G8 group in 2014 after it annexed Crimea.
“Putin talks to me,” the US president said. “He doesn’t talk to anyone else… he’s not happy with that.”
Although Trump refrained from saying that Russia should be readmitted to the group, his comments raised doubts about how much Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy can achieve when he meets with leaders on Tuesday.
Trump left the summit in Canada early, telling reporters: “I have to get back early for obvious reasons.” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump left early due to “events in the Middle East.”
THIS MEANS THAT THE US PRESIDENT WILL NOT MEET WITH UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY AND MEXICAN PRESIDENT CLAUDIA SHEINBAUM, WHICH WAS SCHEDULED FOR TUESDAY, THE LAST DAY OF THE SUMMIT.
A representative of the Ukrainian Embassy in Canada said that Zelenskyy still plans to visit Canada.
Later ir was reported that Trump had ordered the White House National Security Council to convene after his return.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the “deployment of additional forces” to the Middle East to strengthen the Pentagon’s “defence posture”. However, US officials rejected speculations that the US was preparing to join Israel’s attack on Iran.
This is the second time Trump has left a G7 summit early. In 2018, he left the summit in Quebec to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
On Monday evening, Israel announced that it had carried out an attack on an Iranian broadcasting organisation. Iranian state television reported that two people had been killed in the attack.
In Israel, air raid sirens sounded in Tel Aviv after midnight, but there were no reports of rocket attacks.
Iranian officials said that 224 people, mostly civilians, had been killed in five days, while Israel said that 24 civilians had been killed. Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said that nearly 3 000 Israelis had been evacuated due to damage caused by Iranian attacks.
French President Emmanuel Macron said at the summit that Trump had proposed a truce between Iran and Israel.
“An offer has been made, in particular for a ceasefire and the start of broader discussions. I think that is very good,” Macron told reporters. “Now we have to wait and see what the involved parties will do.”
Axios reported that US envoy Steve Wintkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi may meet this week.
Sources told Reuters that Tehran has asked Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia to urge Trump to pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree to an immediate ceasefire. In exchange, Iran would show flexibility in nuclear talks, according to two Iranian and three regional sources.
Talks between the US and Iran, scheduled for the 15th of June in Oman, were cancelled after Tehran said it could not negotiate while under attack.