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Israel-Iran latest: Trump leaves G7 early, telling Iranians to evacuate Tehran

Israel-Iran latest: Trump leaves G7 early, telling Iranians to evacuate Tehran

Times3 days ago

Loud booms were heard over Tel Aviv and Jerusalem on Tuesday.
Air raid sirens sounded in several parts of Israel and the military warned of incoming Iranian missiles.
'A short while ago, sirens sounded in several areas across Israel following the identification of missiles launched from Iran toward the State of Israel,' the military said in a statement.
The statement added that the air force was 'operating to intercept and strike where necessary to eliminate the threat.'
Israel's military conducted 'several extensive strikes' on military targets in western Iran overnight.
'During the strikes, dozens of surface-to-surface missile storage and launch infrastructure were struck,' the military said in a statement.
'In addition, surface-to-air missile launchers and UAV storage sites were struck in western Iran,' it added.
Footage accompanying the statement showed the moments surface-to-air and surface-to-surface missile launchers were hit and another clip appeared to show a strike on a surface-to-air launcher holding three missiles.
President Trump has said his reasons for leaving G7 were 'mistakenly' described by President Macron.
The US leader said his early G7 exit had 'nothing to do' with an Israel-Iran ceasefire.
Macron 'mistakenly said that I left the G7 Summit, in Canada, to go back to DC to work on a 'cease fire' between Israel and Iran,' Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Tuesday as he left the G7 summit in Canada to return to Washington.
Macron had earlier put a positive interpretation on Trump's departure, saying the US president had made a proposal for a ceasefire in the Middle East. '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,' Macron told reporters.
The Group of Seven nations expressed support for Israel in a statement issued late on Monday and labelled its rival Iran the 'principal source of regional instability and terror'.
The group urged a de-escalation of the air war between Iran and Israel, which began on Friday when Israel attacked Iran with air strikes.
'We affirm that Israel has a right to defend itself. We reiterate our support for the security of Israel,' G7 leaders said in the statement.
'Iran is the principal source of regional instability and terror,' the statement added and said the G7 was 'clear that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon'.
The US is reportedly discussing the possibility of a meeting this week between envoy Steve Witkoff and the Iranian foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, to discuss a nuclear deal and an end to the war between Israel and Iran, Axios reported on Monday citing four sources briefed on the issue.
Israel widened its bombing offensive against Iran on Monday, striking the state television building in Tehran. Flames leapt from the television building in north Tehran after the strike, which cut programmes just as a newsreader was lambasting Israel live on air.
Iranian channels said a new salvo of missiles and drones had been launched towards Israel on Monday night. The regime's Revolutionary Guards threatened 'the largest and most intense missile attack in history on Israeli soil' in retaliation. They urged people in Tel Aviv to flee.
Trump has hit back at those who support his own party calling on him not to involve the US any deeper in the conflict between Israel and Iran.
'Somebody please explain to kooky Tucker Carlson that IRAN CAN NEVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON,' Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform Monday evening.
Tucker Carlson urged that the US stay out of a fast conflict between Israel and Iran.
'I don't know what Tucker Carlson is saying. Let him go get a television network and say it so that people listen,' Trump said during a meeting with the British prime minister, Sir Keir Starmer. Marjorie Taylor Greene has criticised the handling of the Middle East crisis in a post defending Carlson.
'Foreign wars/intervention/regime change put America last, kill innocent people, are making us broke, and will ultimately lead to our destruction,' the Republican representative wrote on X.
'That's not kooky. That's what millions of Americans voted for. It's what we believe is America First.'
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President Trump pulled out of the G7 meeting a day early, on Monday night, saying he wanted to return to Washington to focus on the Middle East shortly after posting a warning for Tehran to evacuate.
Trump's abrupt departure marks a dramatic rejection of efforts by the world's richest democracies to come together to push for de-escalation in the wars in Iran and Ukraine.
He leaves behind a group of western leaders who were hoping Trump could have been persuaded to join them in putting diplomatic pressure on Israel.

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