The president of the United States denies that he is returning to seek a ceasefire: ‘It is something much greater,’ he has written on social media.
U.S. President Donald Trump abruptly decided to leave the G-7 summit in Kananaskis, Canada, on Monday night, a day and a half earlier than scheduled, to return to Washington due to the dangerous escalation of tensions in the Middle East. From the plane, he contradicted French President Emmanuel Macron, who had claimed that Trump was returning to seek a ceasefire, asserting that the reason was ‘something much bigger’.
Macron ‘has no idea why I am returning to Washington, but it certainly has nothing to do with a ceasefire. It is much bigger than that,’ Trump wrote in a message on Truth, his social media platform.
His comment capped off a Monday in which his remarks concerning the crisis became increasingly aggressive toward Iran, to the extent of urging the population of Tehran to evacuate the city as soon as possible.
At the same time, the U.S. president eventually accepted to support a joint statement from the G-7 (the seven most developed countries in the world: the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan, along with the European Union) calling for a resolution to the crisis and a ‘broader de-escalation’ in the Middle East, after initially having declined to sign it.
In brief statements to the press before the leaders’ dinner, the final act of the summit he was attending, Trump indicated about his departure: ‘They are probably seeing what I see, and I need to return as soon as possible,’ he added.
The decision to return to Washington was made while Israel and Iran were preparing new mutual attacks, with Israel having attacked the headquarters of Iranian state television during a live broadcast.
Fox News has reported that Trump has called a meeting of his National Security Council in the White House Situation Room upon his arrival in Washington.
In brief statements to the press before the leaders’ dinner, the final act of the summit he was attending, Trump indicated regarding his departure: ‘They are probably seeing what I see, and I need to return as soon as possible,’ he added.
The decision to return to Washington was made while Israel and Iran were preparing for new mutual attacks, with Israel having targeted the headquarters of Iranian state television during a live broadcast.
Fox News has reported that Trump convened a meeting of his National Security Council in the White House Situation Room upon his arrival in Washington.
After a meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, the U.S. President had urged Iran to renounce its nuclear activities hours earlier.
«I believe an agreement will be signed, or something will happen, but an agreement will be signed, and Iran would be foolish not to do so.
» In response to the tensions, the Pentagon has reinforced its military presence in the Mediterranean and the Middle East in recent days.
Between Sunday and Monday, it has sent additional fighter jets and at least one aircraft carrier, the Nimitz, which was in southeastern Asian waters, speeding its course to join other U.S. ships in the area under Central Command’s responsibility.
In a statement, the Department of Defense insists that its «position remains purely defensive, and that has not changed.»
«We will protect the interests and citizens of the United States.» The deployment, he assures, aims to have options available in the event that Iran were to attack American interests in the region as part of its retaliation against Israel.
Trump, while stating that he wishes for the situation to be resolved through diplomatic means, has warned Tehran of severe consequences if it targets American objectives.
According to the French President, Emmanuel Macron, in Kananaskis, Trump has put on the table the possibility of a ceasefire between Israel and Iran. ‘There is indeed an offer to meet and exchange. A proposal has been made to basically achieve a ceasefire and then launch broader discussions,’ he explained. ‘Now we will have to see if the parties accept it.
The American president, who arrived in Kananaskis on Sunday, participated in the plenary sessions of this Monday at the meeting of leaders from developed democracies. He also held bilateral meetings with the host, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney; German Chancellor Friedrich Merz; the head of the British Government, Keir Starmer; the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen; and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.
This Tuesday, a meeting was scheduled with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, who was landing in Canada at the same time the White House announced Trump’s departure. Throughout the first day of discussions among the leaders of seven developed democracies, the divisions within the group became evident.
Europe had promoted a collective statement calling for de-escalation in the Middle East, stipulating that Israel had the right to defend itself and that Iran should not be allowed to acquire nuclear armament. However, a senior U.S. official confirmed that Trump was unwilling to sign that document.
Disagreements were also exposed regarding the war in Ukraine. Europeans proposed new sanctions against Moscow, particularly a cut to the maximum price at which Russia can sell its oil, its main source of revenue.
That cap, according to the EU proposal, would be set at 45 dollars per barrel.
But the situation in the Middle East, which has raised oil prices, makes it more difficult to reach an agreement on that measure, as European sources acknowledged this weekend. And in statements this Monday, the U.S. president confirmed his skepticism, indicating that the sanctions ‘cost us a lot of money.’ Trump also lamented that the group had expelled Russia in 2014, the year that Russia occupied the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea, and he expressed support for readmitting Moscow and allowing China’s entry U.S. tariffs, the other major topic dominating the summit, captured the attention of the bilateral meetings that the U.S. president held this Monday.
After their meeting, Von der Leyen indicated in a message on X that she spoke with Trump about priority issues such as Ukraine and trade, as the date of July 9 approaches when the U.S. threatens to impose a 50% tax on the European bloc. ‘Regarding trade, we have given.
«Regarding trade, we have instructed our teams to expedite their work to achieve a good and equitable agreement,» wrote the President of the European Commission.
Similar results were being carried out by Carney and Ishiba, whose delegations announced that they would continue discussions to finalize agreements. Trump was also formalizing an agreement with the United Kingdom, which had already been reached in May but had yet to be implemented, exempting the British aerospace sector from taxes and reducing them from 25% to 10% in the automotive sector.
