Trump abruptly departs G7 summit amid escalating Israel-Iran conflict

US President Donald Trump has abruptly left the Group of Seven summit, departing a day early Monday as the conflict between Israel and Iran intensifies and the US leader has declared that Tehran should be evacuated “immediately.”

World leaders had gathered in Canada with the specific goal of helping to defuse a series of global pressure points, only to be disrupted by a showdown over Iran’s nuclear programme that could escalate in dangerous and uncontrollable ways. Israel launched an aerial bombardment campaign against Iran four days ago.

At the summit, Trump warned that Tehran needs to curb its nuclear programme before it’s “too late.” He said Iranian leaders would “like to talk” but they had already had 60 days to reach an agreement on their nuclear ambitions and failed to do so before the Israeli aerial assault began. “They have to make a deal,” he said.

Asked what it would take for the US to get involved in the conflict militarily, Trump said Monday morning, “I don’t want to talk about that.”

So far, Israel has targeted multiple Iranian nuclear programme sites but has not been able to destroy Iran’s Fordo uranium enrichment facility. The site is buried deep underground — and to eliminate it, Israel may need the 30,000-pound (14,000-kilogram) GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator, the US bunker-busting bomb that uses its weight and sheer kinetic force to reach deeply buried targets. Israel does not have the munition or the bomber needed to deliver it. The penetrator is currently delivered by the B-2 stealth bomber.

By Monday afternoon, Trump warned ominously on social media, “Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!” Shortly after that, Trump decided to leave the summit and skip a series of Tuesday meetings that would address the ongoing war in Ukraine and global trade issues.

As Trump posed for a picture Monday evening with the other G7 leaders, he said simply, “I have to be back, very important." Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, the host, said, “I am very grateful for the president’s presence and I fully understand." The sudden departure only heightened the drama of a world that seems on verge of several firestorms. Trump already has hit several dozen nations with severe tariffs that risk a global economic slowdown. There has been little progress on settling the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.

But in a deeper sense, Trump saw a better path in the United States taking solitary action, rather than in building a consensus with the other G7 nations of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz held an hourTrump is departing G7 early as conflict between Israel and Iran shows signs of intensifying.

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