Trump leaves G7 summit early over Middle East

US President Donald Trump has left the Group of Seven summit in Canada a day early due to the situation in the Middle East, the White House has said.
French President Emmanuel Macron said Mr Trump had made an offer for a ceasefire between Israel and Iran.
Mr Trump had earlier urged everyone to immediately evacuate Tehran and reiterated that Iran should have signed a nuclear deal with the United States.
"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," Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on X.
The G7 has struggled to find unity over conflicts in Ukraine and between Israel and Iran as Mr Trump overtly expressed support for Russian President Vladimir Putin and has imposed tariffs on many of the allies present.
Mr Trump did agree to a group statement calling for de-escalation of the Israel-Iran conflict.
"We urge that the resolution of the Iranian crisis leads to a broader de-escalation of hostilities in the Middle East, including a ceasefire in Gaza," the statement said.
The G7 expressed support for Israel, saying it has the right to defend itself and labelled its rival Iran as a source of instability in the Middle East.
Mr Macron said that Mr Trump's departure was positive, given the objective to get a ceasefire.
"There is indeed an offer to meet and exchange. An offer was made especially to get a ceasefire and to then kick-start broader discussions," Mr Macron told reporters.
"We have to see now whether the sides will follow."
G7 leaders from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the US, along with the European Union, had convened in the resort area of Kananaskis in the Canadian Rockies.
Speaking alongside Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney earlier, Mr Trump said the former Group of Eight had been wrong to kick out Russia in 2014 after it annexed Crimea.
"This was a big mistake," Mr Trump said, adding he believed Russia would not have invaded Ukraine in 2022 had Putin not been ejected.
"Putin speaks to me. He doesn't speak to anybody else ... he's not a happy person about it. I can tell you that he basically doesn't even speak to the people that threw him out, and I agree with him," Mr Trump said.
Though Mr Trump stopped short of saying Russia should be reinstated in the group, his comments had raised doubts about how much Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky can achieve when he is scheduled to meet the leaders later today.
"It was a rough start," said Josh Lipsky, a former senior IMF official who now chairs the international economics department at the Atlantic Council.
European nations had wanted to persuade Mr Trump to back tougher sanctions on Moscow.
A spokesperson for the Ukraine embassy in Canada said that Mr Zelensky was still planning to come to Canada.
Canada has abandoned any effort to adopt a comprehensive communique to avert a repeat of the 2018 summit in Quebec, when Trump instructed the US delegation to withdraw its approval of the final communique after leaving.
Leaders have prepared several draft documents seen by Reuters, including on migration, artificial intelligence, and critical minerals. None of them have been approved by the United States, however, according to sources briefed on the documents.
Without Mr Trump, it is unclear if there will be any declarations, a European diplomat said.
Mr Carney invited non-G7 members Mexico, India, Australia, South Africa, South Korea and Brazil, as well as Ukraine.
Tariffs
Mr Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said they had finalised a trade deal reached between the two allies last month, making Britain the first country to agree to a deal for lower US tariffs.
Mr Carney said in a statement he had agreed with Mr Trump that their two nations should try to wrap up a new economic and security deal within 30 days.
Mr Trump said a new economic deal with host Canada was possible but stressed tariffs had to play a role, a position the Canadian government strongly opposes.
"Our position is that we should have no tariffs on Canadian exports to the United States," said Kirsten Hillman, Canada's ambassador to Washington.

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Irish Examiner

an hour ago

• Irish Examiner

US strikes three Iranian nuclear sites

President Donald Trump said that the United States military struck three sites in Iran, directly joining Israel's effort to decapitate the country's nuclear programme in a risky gambit to weaken a longtime foe amid Tehran's threat of reprisals that could spark a wider regional conflict. Iran's state-run IRNA news agency, quoting a provincial official, confirmed attacks on Fordo, Isfahan and Natanz nuclear sites. The decision to directly involve the US in the war comes after more than a week of strikes by Israel on Iran that have moved to systematically eradicate the country's air defences and offensive missile capabilities, while damaging its nuclear enrichment facilities. US and Israeli officials have said that American stealth bombers and the 30,000-pound (13,500-kg) bunker buster bomb they alone can carry offered the best chance of destroying heavily-fortified sites connected to the Iranian nuclear programme buried deep underground. 'We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan,' Mr Trump said in a post on social media. 'All planes are now outside of Iran air space. A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow. All planes are safely on their way home.' Mr Trump added in a later post that he would address the national audience at 10pm eastern time, writing: 'This is an HISTORIC MOMENT FOR THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, ISRAEL, AND THE WORLD. IRAN MUST NOW AGREE TO END THIS WAR. THANK YOU!' Trump said B-2 stealth bombers were used but did not specify which types of bombs were dropped. The White House and Pentagon did not immediately elaborate on the operation. The strikes are a perilous decision for the US as Iran has pledged to retaliate if it joined the Israeli assault, and for Mr Trump personally, having won the White House on the promise of keeping America out of costly foreign conflicts and scoffed at the value of American interventionism. Trump told reporters on Friday that he was not interested in sending ground forces into Iran, saying it's 'the last thing you want to do.' He had previously indicated that he would make a final choice over the course of two weeks, a timeline that seemed drawn out as the situation was evolving quickly. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned the United States on Wednesday that strikes targeting the Islamic Republic will 'result in irreparable damage for them'. Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei declared 'any American intervention would be a recipe for an all-out war in the region'. Trump has vowed that he would not allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon and he had initially hoped that the threat of force would bring the country's leaders to give up its nuclear program peacefully. Israel 's military said Saturday it was preparing for the possibility of a lengthy war, while Iran's foreign minister warned before the U.S. attack that American military involvement 'would be very, very dangerous for everyone.' The prospect of a wider war threatened, too. Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen said they would resume attacks on U.S. vessels in the Red Sea if the Trump administration joins Israel's military campaign. The Houthis paused such attacks in May under a deal with the US. The US ambassador to Israel announced the US had begun 'assisted departure flights,' the first from Israel since the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023, that sparked the war in Gaza. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at Thursday's press briefing that Trump had said: 'I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks.' Instead, the U.S. president struck just two days later. Trump appears to have made the calculation — at the prodding of Israeli officials and many Republican lawmakers — that Israel's operation had softened the ground and presented a perhaps unparalleled opportunity to set back Iran's nuclear program, perhaps permanently. The Israelis say their offensive has already crippled Iran's air defences, allowing them to already significantly degrade multiple Iranian nuclear sites. But to destroy the Fordo nuclear fuel enrichment plant, Israel appealed to Trump for US bunker-busting bomb, which uses its weight and sheer kinetic force to reach deeply buried targets and then explode. The penetrator is currently only delivered by the B-2 stealth bomber, which is only found in the American arsenal. The bomb carries a conventional warhead, and is believed to be able to penetrate about 200 feet (61 meters) below the surface before exploding, and the bombs can be dropped one after another, effectively drilling deeper and deeper with each successive blast. The International Atomic Energy Agency has confirmed that Iran is producing highly enriched uranium at Fordo, raising the possibility that nuclear material could be released into the area if the GBU-57 A/B were used to hit the facility. Previous Israeli strikes at another Iranian nuclear site, Natanz, on a centrifuge site have caused contamination only at the site itself, not the surrounding area, the IAEA has said. Mr Trump's decision for direct US military intervention comes after his administration made an unsuccessful two-month push — including with high-level, direct negotiations with the Iranians — aimed at persuading Tehran to curb its nuclear programme. For months, Mr Trump said he was dedicated to a diplomatic push to persuade Iran to give up its nuclear ambitions. And he twice — in April and again in late May — persuaded Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to hold off on military action against Iran and give diplomacy more time. The US in recent days has been shifting military aircraft and warships into and around the Middle East to protect Israel and US bases from Iranian attacks. All the while, Mr Trump has gone from publicly expressing hope that the moment could be a 'second chance' for Iran to make a deal to delivering explicit threats on Mr Khamenei and making calls for Tehran's unconditional surrender. 'We know exactly where the so-called 'Supreme Leader' is hiding,' Mr Trump said in a social media posting. 'He is an easy target, but is safe there – We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now.' The military showdown with Iran comes seven years after Mr Trump withdrew the US from the Obama-administration brokered agreement in 2018, calling it the 'worst deal ever'. The 2015 deal, signed by Iran, US and other world powers, created a long-term, comprehensive nuclear agreement that limited Tehran's enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions. Mr Trump decried the Obama-era deal for giving Iran too much in return for too little, because the agreement did not cover Iran's non-nuclear malign behaviour. Mr Trump has bristled at criticism from some of his Maga faithful, including conservative pundit Tucker Carlson, who have suggested that further US involvement would be a betrayal to supporters who were drawn to his promise to end US involvement in expensive and endless wars.

Irish Independent

2 hours ago

• Irish Independent

‘Prolonged campaign' could be on the cards for Israelis as Iranian nuclear research facility is hit

Iranians hit back with missile strikes, while US begins 'assisted departure flights' from Israel Today at 21:30 Israel's military said yesterday it was preparing for the possibility of a lengthy war, and announced it struck an Iranian nuclear research facility overnight while also killing three senior Iranian commanders in targeted attacks. The prospect of a wider war was also threatened. Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen said they would resume attacks on US vessels and warships in the Red Sea if the Trump administration joins Israel's military campaign against Iran. The Houthis paused such attacks last month under a deal with the US.

Irish Daily Star

2 hours ago

• Irish Daily Star

Trump announces attacks on Iranian nuclear sites as US joins Israel-Iran conflict

President Donald Trump announced Saturday that the U.S. military struck three sites in Iran, as America joins Israel's conflict against Iran. The decision to directly involve the U.S. comes after more than a week of strikes. The U.S. joined the conflict on the side of Israel, which had hoped to destroy Iran's nuclear program once and for all. The repercussions from the strikes could be dire — a much wider regional conflict could be on the horizon. Israel had also been working to destroy the country's air defenses and offensive missile capabilities. "We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan," Trump wrote on Truth Social on Saturday. "All planes are now outside of Iran air space. A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow. All planes are safely on their way home." "Congratulations to our great American Warriors. There is not another military in the World that could have done this. NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE! Thank you for your attention to this matter," he concluded. He later added that he would be addressing the nation at 10 p.m. EDT to discuss the attacks. Israeli officials previously said that American stealth bombers and a 30,000-pound bunker buster bomb that only the U.S. has offered the best chance of destroying heavily fortified sites connected to Iran's nuclear program. They were buried deep underground. Israel's military warned on Saturday that it's ready for a lengthy war with Iran, as the U.S. military was seen moving multiple B-2 bombers westward. Iran's foreign minister said on Saturday that U.S. military involvement in the conflict "would be very, very dangerous for everyone," and the prospect of a wider war has many worried. Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, added that the U.S. striking Iran could "result in irreparable damage for them." The Houthis said on Saturday that "Washington must bear the consequences for the attacks." They said previously that they would continue attacks on American ships in the Red Sea if the country attacked Iran. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-W.V.) slammed the bombing and penned on X, "This is not constitutional." The U.S. ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, warned that the U.S. had already begun "assisted departure flights" from Israel for the first time since the invasion by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, which sparked the Israeli retaliation in Gaza. Israel's military said it struck an Iranian nuclear research facility overnight and killed three senior Iranian commanders in pursuit of its goal to destroy Iran's nuclear program. That came just over a week after two other very similar strikes. In Isfahan, where Iran's primary nuclear facility is, smoke could be seen rising near a mountain. The province's deputy governor for security affairs, Akbar Salehi, confirmed that Israeli strikes damaged the facility, according to The Associated Press. The International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed the attack as well and said it was the same facility targeted over a week ago on the war's first day. It was "extensively damaged," but there isn't any risk of off-site contamination — which is the reason attacking nuclear facilities is prohibited under the Geneva Convention and considered a war crime. It's not clear if that has changed following the U.S.'s strikes on the facilities. Iran retaliated by launching drones and missiles at Israel, but there were no reports of any significant damage. Iran hasn't yet officially acknowledged Saturday's attacks from the U.S. According to an Israeli military official, the Israeli military has taken out over 50% of Iran's launchers. "We're making it harder for them to fire toward Israel," he said. Israeli military chief spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin later said Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir told the army to prepare for a "prolonged campaign" against Iran. US military moves B-2 bombers west The B-2 bombers that appeared to be moving west took off from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri on Friday night, according to flight tracking data obtained and reviewed by CNN . On Saturday, the planes were flying over the Pacific, and they appeared to be headed toward Guam. B-2 bombers are the only planes capable of carrying the Massive Ordinance Penetrator, which experts highlighted as the only type of bomb that could potentially destroy Iran's secretive underground Fordow nuclear facility, which is located a couple of hundred miles east of Tehran. Israel's strikes have so far impacted the facility in Natanz in the Isfahan province, but they haven't been able to reach the Fordow facility. It's also believed that only the American bombs can penetrate or do any sort of significant damage to the facility and that none of the weapons Israel has are adequate. Each B-2 bomber can reportedly carry two of the "bunker buster" bombs, which each weigh 30,000 pounds. Trump spent the majority of last week in the Situation Room, reportedly reviewing attack plans and quizzing officials about the potential consequences of each one. The president indicated a two-week timeline for a decision on whether or not to involve the U.S. military in the conflict between Israel and Iran. Saturday seemed to be the day he made his decision, involving the U.S. in the conflict.