President Donald Trump on Monday encouraged the evacuation of “everyone” in Tehran, a city of nearly 10 million people.
The president fired off the message in a post on his Truth Social platform, writing, “Iran should have signed the ‘deal’ I told them to sign. What a shame, and waste of human life.“
“Simply stated, IRAN CANNOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON. I said it over and over again! Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!” he added.
It wasn’t immediately clear what specifically provoked the post. It echoed an earlier warning from the Israeli military for people to evacuate a part of central Tehran that includes the headquarters of Iranian state TV and law enforcement. That evacuation warning affected some 330,000 people, according to the Associated Press.
Explosions were reported in Tehran shortly after Trump’s post, but it’s not clear if there was any link.
Videos posted on social media on Monday showed gridlocked traffic queues as people sought to flee Tehran. The city’s population is around 10 million, with nearly 17 million in the metropolitan area.
Monday’s escalation followed days of strikes on the city by Israel in its military campaign against Iran.
Trump sent the missive about an hour before his White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, abruptly announced he was leaving the G7 summit in Canada a day early.
“Because of what’s going on in the Middle East, President Trump will be leaving tonight after dinner with Heads of State,” she posted on X.
Just hours earlier, Trump said at the G7 he’d “spoken with everybody” and thinks Iran “wants to make a deal.”
Trump has denied U.S. involvement in Israel’s initial attack, but multiple reports suggest there was at least some degree of coordination between the two countries ahead of the strikes.
Trump ducked a question on Monday about what it would take for the U.S. military to get involved, telling reporters, “I don’t want to talk about that.”
Unnamed U.S. officials told ABC News that Trump did not intend to sign a statement being drafted by G7 nations to call for de-escalation between Israel and Iran. When asked about it, a White House official insisted, “Under the strong leadership of President Trump, the United States is back to leading the effort to restore peace around the world.”
“President Trump will continue to work towards ensuring Iran cannot obtain a nuclear weapon,” the official added, according to ABC News.
Trump said in his inaugural address that under his leadership, “our power will stop all wars.” That pledge is prompting fierce backlash from a faction of his base, as Trump continues to be vague about his intentions amid the escalating conflict.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Israeli soldiers Monday that they are close to their stated goal of “eliminating the nuclear threat and eliminating the missile threat” from Iran.
He said the Israeli Air Force had complete control of Tehran’s skies.
The four days of conflict were precipitated by a surprise Israeli attack on Tehran’s military facilities and top Iranian officials on Thursday. Netanyahu cast the move as a preemptive act to protect Israel from nuclear threats.
