U.S. President Donald Trump left the Group of Seven summit in Canada early on Monday, after hostilities between Iran and Israel sharply escalated during a fourth day of fighting.
"You probably see what I see and I have to be back as soon as I can,” Trump said during a family photo with other G7 leaders when asked why he was cutting short the trip. "I wish I could stay for tomorrow, but they understand"
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt cited “what’s going on in the Middle East” as the reason for leaving in a statement on the president’s travel plans
Trump’s departure came shortly after Trump warned on social media Monday that Iran could not be permitted to develop nuclear weapons and said that people in the capital Tehran should evacuate "immediately."
“Iran should have signed the ‘deal’ I told them to sign," Trump wrote. He did not provide additional details.
In comments at the summit, President Trump said Iran "is not winning this war. And they should talk and they should talk immediately before it’s too late.”
Trump did not delve into US military or intelligence involvement when pressed by reporters, but repeatedly urged that Iran should secure a deal, noting it didn’t meet a 60 day deadline to do so before Israel struck.
“I think Iran basically is at the negotiating table where they want to make a deal. And as soon as I leave here, we're going to be doing something. But I have to leave here. I have, you know, this commitment. I have a lot of commitments,” Trump said.
Trump did not elaborate on the commitments.
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As news broke of Trump’s departure, chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell stated on X that “American Forces are maintaining their defensive posture & that has not changed.”
Additional capabilities were directed to the region over the weekend, Sec. of Defense Pete Hegseth confirmed in statement describing the deployments as “intended to enhance our defensive posture in the region.”
It included directing the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group to the US Central Command area of responsibility and continued operations from the US Navy in the eastern Mediterranean ‘in support of US national security objective,’ according to a defense official.
Trump is ‘always in touch’ with members of his national security council, according to an administration official. Several members of Trump’s National Security Council were traveling with him, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who earlier in the day spoke with his UK and French counterparts about the conflict and ‘encouraging a diplomatic path,’ according to a State Department readout.
Trump and Netanyahu have frequent contact, a source familiar said.
The conflict in the Middle East stood to be a major focus at the summit, in which Trump met on the sidelines with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Canada Prime Minister Mark Carney and EU Commissioner Ursula von der Lyon.
G7 leaders have called for Iran to not have a nuclear weapon, as some also underscored diplomacy on the issue.
A spokesperson for the German government told reporters that the “goal might be to have a joint declaration by the G7 here,” on the Middle East, but that it would be up to the Americans to decide whether there was a statement.
"Under the strong leadership of President Trump, the United States is back to leading the effort to restore peace around the world. President Trump will continue to work towards ensuring Iran cannot obtain a nuclear weapon,” a White House official stated at the time.
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The US was scheduled for a sixth round of talks with Iran over its nuclear program in Oman, before they were called off after Israel launched strikes against Iran last weekend.
President Donald Trump shortly after said the U.S. was not involved in the strikes against Iran Saturday evening, and warned of actions against the U.S.
According to two American officials, the U.S. is providing support to Israel amid the barrage, helping shoot down missiles headed towards the nation. A separate U.S. official previously confirmed to Scripps News that Iran had asked the U.S. to join its war against Iran in the hopes of eliminating its nuclear program, though the officials said the Trump administration was “not considering that” at this time.
Ahead of Israel’s initial strikes, Trump publicly signaled he didn’t want Israel to attack Iran as he believed they were “fairly close” to an agreement, but as tensions rose, nonessential personal were urged to evacuate the American embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, US government personnel and family were restricted from traveling outside the greater Tel Aviv area in Israel, and voluntary departure of military dependents from locations across the US Central Command area of responsibility were authorized.
Trump had still been expected to meet with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy before his trip ended early.
