On Monday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a post on X that President Trump was leaving the G7 Summit early due to the conflict between Israel and Iran. Leavitt said Trump had planned to stay at the economic summit longer, but returned to Washington Monday night “because of what’s going on in the Middle East.” Trump left Washington for Canada this week to meet with world leaders at the Group of Seven Summit.
“President Trump had a great day at the G7, even signing a major trade deal with the United Kingdom and Prime Minister Keir Starmer. 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,” said Leavitt.
The change in the president’s plans came as he posted a warning to residents in Tehran to leave the city immediately. The Iranian capital has been bombarded for days by Israel in targeted strikes on military and other key locations.
President Donald Trump said Tuesday morning that he has not reached out to Iran for peace talks, denying earlier reports.
“I have not reached out to Iran for ‘Peace Talks’ in any way, shape, or form. This is just more HIGHLY FABRICATED, FAKE NEWS! If they want to talk, they know how to reach me,” Trump posted. “They should have taken the deal that was on the table — Would have saved a lot of lives!!!”
“Publicity seeking President Emmanuel Macron, of France, mistakenly said that I left the G7 Summit, in Canada, to go back to D.C. to work on a ‘cease fire’ between Israel and Iran,” Trump wrote. “Wrong! He has no idea why I am now on my way to Washington, but it certainly has nothing to do with a Cease Fire. Much bigger than that. Whether purposely or not, Emmanuel always gets it wrong. Stay Tuned!”
When asked on board Air Force One what he meant by promising something more than a ceasefire, Trump said he wanted, “An end. A real end. Not a ceasefire.” He added that “giving up entirely” would also be an option.
Israel continues to exert air dominance over Iran, targeting nuclear facilities, military leaders, and Iranian state media. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that the conflict would end if Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei were killed.
When asked by ABC News Chief Washington Correspondent Jonathan Karl about reports from ABC News and other outlets that President Donald Trump rejected an Israeli plan to assassinate Iran’s Supreme Leader, concerned that it would escalate the conflict, Netanyahu said, “It’s not going to escalate the conflict, it’s going to end the conflict.”
“We’ve had half a century of conflict spread by this regime that terrorizes everyone in the Middle East; has bombed the Aramco oil fields in Saudi Arabia; is spreading terrorism and subversion and sabotage everywhere,” Netanyahu said. “The ‘forever war’ is what Iran wants, and they’re bringing us to the brink of nuclear war. In fact, what Israel is doing is preventing this, bringing an end to this aggression, and we can only do so by standing up to the forces of evil.”
“We are going to continue until we remove the two existential threats: the nuclear threat and the threat of 20,000 ballistic missiles that are equivalent to two nuclear bombs,” Netanyahu said.
