Trump is departing the G7 early as conflict between Israel and Iran
shows signs of intensifying
[June 17, 2025]
By JOSH BOAK, ROB GILLIES and JILL LAWLESS
KANANASKIS, Alberta (AP) — President Donald Trump abruptly left the
Group of Seven summit Monday, departing a day early as the conflict
between Israel and Iran intensified and the U.S. leader 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 program 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
program 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 U.S. 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 program 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 U.S. 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."
Crises abound
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 hourlong informal meeting soon after arriving at the summit late
Sunday to discuss the widening conflict in the Mideast, Starmer’s office
said.
And Merz told reporters that Germany was planning to draw up a final
communique proposal on the Israel-Iran conflict that will stress that
“Iran must under no circumstances be allowed to acquire nuclear
weapons-capable material.”
The G7 leaders all signed a joint statement Monday night saying Iran
“can never have a nuclear weapon” as they urged a “broader de-escalation
of hostilities in the Middle East, including a ceasefire in Gaza.”
Trump, for his part, said Iran “is not winning this war. And they should
talk and they should talk immediately before it’s too late.”
But by early Monday evening, as he planned to depart Kananaskis and the
Canadian Rocky Mountains, Trump seemed willing to push back against his
own supporters who believe the U.S. should embrace a more isolationist
approach to world affairs. It was a sign of the heightened military,
political and economic stakes in a situation evolving faster than the
summit could process.
“AMERICA FIRST means many GREAT things, including the fact that, IRAN
CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!” Trump posted
on Truth Social, his social media platform.
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Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, from left, France's President
Emmanuel Macron, Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney, President
Donald Trump, Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Germany's
Chancellor Friedrich Merz participate in a session of the G7 Summit,
Monday, June 16, 2025, in Kananaskis, Canada. (AP Photo/Mark
Schiefelbein)
It’s unclear how much Trump values the perspective of other members
of the G7, a group he immediately criticized while meeting with
Carney. The U.S. president said it was a mistake to remove Russia
from the summit's membership in 2014 and doing so had destabilized
the world. He also suggested he was open to adding China to the G7.
High tension
As the news media was escorted from the summit's opening session,
Carney could be heard as he turned to Trump and referenced how the
U.S. leader's remarks about the Middle East, Russia and China had
already drawn attention to the summit.
“Mr. President, I think you’ve answered a lot of questions already,”
Carney said.
The German, U.K., Japanese and Italian governments had each signaled
a belief that a friendly relationship with Trump this year can help
keep public drama at a minimum, after the U.S. president in 2018
opposed a joint communique when the G7 summit was last held in
Canada.
Going into the summit, there was no plan for a joint statement this
year.
The G7 originated as a 1973 finance ministers' meeting to address
the oil crisis and evolved into a yearly summit meant to foster
personal relationships among world leaders and address global
problems. It briefly expanded to the G8 with Russia as a member,
only for Russia to be expelled in 2014 after annexing Crimea and
taking a foothold in Ukraine that preceded its aggressive 2022
invasion of that nation.
Beyond Carney and Starmer, Trump had bilateral meetings or
pull-aside conversations with Merz, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru
Ishiba and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
He talked with Macron about “tariffs, the situation in the Near and
Middle East, and the situation in Ukraine,” according to Macron
spokesperson Jean-Noël Ladois.
On Tuesday, Trump had been scheduled before his departure to meet
with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Ukrainian President
Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Zelenskyy said one of the topics for discussion
would be a “defense package” that Ukraine is ready to purchase from
the U.S. as part of the ongoing war with Russia, a package whose
status might now be uncertain.
Tariff talk
The U.S. president has imposed 50% tariffs on steel and aluminum as
well as 25% tariffs on autos. Trump is also charging a 10% tax on
imports from most countries, though he could raise rates on July 9,
after the 90-day negotiating period set by him would expire.
He announced with Starmer that they had signed a trade framework
Monday that was previously announced in May. The trade framework
included quotas to protect against some tariffs, but the 10%
baseline would largely remain as the Trump administration is banking
on tariff revenues to help cover the cost of its income tax cuts.
Canada and Mexico face separate tariffs of as much as 25% that Trump
put into place under the auspices of stopping fentanyl smuggling,
through some products are still protected under the 2020
U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement signed during Trump's first term.
Merz said of trade talks that “there will be no solution at this
summit, but we could perhaps come closer to a solution in small
steps.”
Carney's office said after the Canadian premier met with Trump on
trade that “the leaders agreed to pursue negotiations toward a deal
within the coming 30 days.”
___
Boak reported from Calgary, Alberta. Associated Press writers Tara
Copp in Washington and Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin contributed to
this report.
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