Donald Trump to leave G7 Summit early over Middle East tensions

U.S. President Donald Trump will leave the G7 Summit in Alberta early, with the rising tensions in the Middle East cited as the reason. In a post to X late on Monday afternoon, Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said that Trump “had a great day at the G7,” and “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,” Leavitt wrote.

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.— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) June 16, 2025

In recent days, Israel and Iran have neared all-out war, with Israel assassinating a number of high-level Iranian officials and Iran responding with rocket attacks on Israel’s cities. Trump called for the evacuation of Iran’s capital Tehran on Monday, hours after he urged the country’s leadership to sign a deal to limit its nuclear program and Israel signalled strikes would continue. It wasn’t clear if Trump knew of a fresh round of attacks Israel may have planned for the city, which has a population of more than 9 million people. Israel had earlier warned one Tehran neighbourhood to evacuate and video showed massive traffic jams as people sought to escape. Soon after Trump’s post, Iran’s Fars news agency reported several explosions east of the city. “Iran should have signed the ‘deal’ I told them to sign,” Trump wrote in a social media post from a Group of Seven leaders’ summit in Alberta, Canada. “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!” Earlier in the day, Trump had said Iran wanted to make a deal, and “as soon as I leave here, we’re going to be doing something.” He didn’t provide any more details. While Trump and senior officials have stressed that the U.S. was not involved in Israel’s attacks on Iran and have warned Tehran not to target American personnel or assets in the region, the administration has helped Israel defend itself from the missile and drone attacks. Whether the U.S. might join in any military action against Iran remains a key question. Israel’s strikes have seen the country assume control over much of Iranian air space and damage key nuclear sites, but experts have said the country lacks the firepower to destroy an underground nuclear facility at Fordow. — With additional reporting from Bloomberg

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