Iftikhar Ali
NEW YORK, Jun 17 (APP):Amid escalating Israel-Iran conflict, US President Donald Trump abruptly announced that he was leaving the G7 summit in Canada a day early and return to Washington shortly after posting an ominous social media message that everyone should evacuate Tehran and emphasized that the Islamic Republic should have signed a nuclear deal.
White House Press secretary Karoline Leavitt, in a post on X, said that “much was accomplished” during Trump’s meetings on Monday with other leaders at the summit in Canada. But, she continued, “because of what’s going on in the Middle East, President Trump will be leaving tonight after dinner with Heads of State
The White House announced Trump’s altered schedule shortly after a series of posts he made on Truth Social that struck an grim tone toward Iran, including one calling for everyone in the capital city of Tehran to “immediately evacuate”– in an obvious bid to step up pressure in the Iranian leadership.
“AMERICA FIRST means many GREAT things, including the fact that, IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON,” Trump wrote in a separate post.
He closed it on an alarming note: “Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!”
Diplomatic observers were puzzled as to what triggered the startling message, casually calling for the evacuation of a city of 10 million people — a warning that came just hours after Israel’s government issued its own evacuation order to citizens in northern Tehran warning them of its expanding campaign.
In a front page report, The New York Times said that President Trump is weighing a critical decision in the deadly war: whether to enter the fray by helping Israel destroy the deeply buried nuclear enrichment facility at Fordo, which only America’s biggest “bunker buster,” dropped by American B-2 bombers, can reach.
“If he decides to go ahead, the United States will become a direct participant in a new conflict in the Middle East, taking on Iran in exactly the kind of war Mr. Trump has sworn, in two campaigns (for presidency), he would avoid,” the Times said.
Iranian officials have already warned that U.S. participation in an attack on its facilities will imperil any remaining chance of the nuclear disarmament deal that Trump insists he is still interested in pursuing.
Meanwhile, spokespersons for both the Pentagon and the White House on Monday night said U.S. forces were maintaining a defensive posture in the region.
“American Forces are maintaining their defensive posture & that has not changed. We will protect American troops & our interests,” Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell posted on X.
Israel and Iran have exchanged strikes since Friday, when Israeli missiles targeted Iranian nuclear facilities and killed multiple top military leaders.
Trump has been peppered with questions in the days since about potential U.S. involvement in the conflict. While the Trump administration said Israel’s initial strikes were a unilateral action, the U.S. assisted Israel in intercepting retaliatory strikes from Iran last Friday, according to media reports.
The president shortly after Israel’s first strikes said Iran may have a “second chance” at reaching an agreement to limit its nuclear programme. But his posts on Monday night, paired with his decision to return to Washington a day earlier than planned, could signal the conflict is about to significantly escalate.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier in the day declined to rule out targeting Iran’s supreme leader, something Trump had reportedly cautioned him against doing. Israeli forces have also claimed they have crippled Iran’s air defence systems, giving Israel air superiority and the ability to essentially strike at will.
Trump arrived in Kananaskis in Canada late Sunday for the G7 summit. He met on Monday with the leaders of Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom and the European Commission. Trump was supposed to hold additional meetings on Tuesday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and hold a press conference before departing in the evening.
When Trump posed with leaders for the G-7 “family photo” before heading back to the airport, he told members of the press on hand that events in the Middle East left him little choice.
“I have to be back as soon as I can,” the president said, making clear his departure was not a response to anything that took place during the summit.
“I wish I could stay for tomorrow, but they understand,” Trump said of the other leaders.
His comments to reporters earlier on Monday, in between meetings with other world leaders, were more explicit in that regard.
“Iran is not winning this war, and they should talk and they should talk immediately before it’s too late,” Trump said.
A short while later, when asked again about the situation in Iran, the president was more optimistic: “I think Iran basically is at the negotiating table. They want to make a deal and as soon as I leave here we’re going to be doing something,” he said.