Donald Trump dramatically left the G7 Summit in Canada a day early to rush back to Washington, with the French president, Emmanuel Macron, claiming the US leader was considering the prospect of a ceasefire between Israel and Iran.
“There is indeed an offer to meet and exchange. An offer was made especially to get a ceasefire and to then kickstart broader discussions,” Macron told reporters at the G7. “We have to see now whether the sides will follow.”
Macron described the move as a positive development. “Right now I believe negotiations need to restart and that civilians reed to protected.”
He added that he did not believe things would change in the next few hours, but “since the US assured they will find a ceasefire and since they can pressure Israel, things may change”.
Trump told reporters he had to leave early for “obvious reasons”, but later posted that his early exit had “nothing to do with” working on a ceasefire between Israel and Iran.
Trump described his reasons as “much bigger than that” in the post on his Truth Social platform.
At a morning meeting, the US president confirmed that he had received signals through intermediaries that Iran wants to de-escalate the fighting.
Trump, no fan of G7 summits, decided to fly to Washington to brief his national security council, in doing so avoiding a day in which he would have been pressed over Ukraine and trade by his G7 colleagues.
The development came after 48 hours in which several Gulf states attempted to mediate between the US and Iran in an attempt to secure a ceasefire and restart nuclear talks that were cancelled by Iran after the surprise attack mounted by Israel.
On Monday, the Israel military had called for 330,000 residents of a neighbourhood in Tehran city centre to evacuate, warning them of the imminent bombing of “military infrastructure” in the area in a social media post very similar to those regularly directed at Palestinians in Gaza over the past 20 months.
In a social media post, Trump also called on Iranians to evacuate the capital more generally, suggesting the president was not putting any brakes on the Israeli government.
Central Tehran appeared to be starting to empty out early on Tuesday, with many shops closed. The city’s ancient Grand Bazaar was also closed, which has only happened in the past during anti-government demonstrations or at the height of the coronavirus pandemic.
On the roads out of Tehran to the west, traffic stood bumper to bumper. Many people appeared to be heading to the Caspian Sea area. Long lines could also be seen at gas stations in Tehran.
After the surprise Israeli attack on Friday morning, Iran has carried out retaliatory missile strikes on Israeli cities, focusing on the most populated areas between Tel Aviv and the port of Haifa. Both sides have targeted each other’s oil and gas facilities, increasing the threat of environmental disaster, and explosions were reported on Monday near oil refineries in southern Tehran.
Earlier, in a joint phone call the French German and British foreign ministers urged Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, not to escalate the conflict by attacking the US or other regional players.
They also pressed Iran not to go ahead with a new threat to leave the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT), a move that could presage an attempt to build a nuclear bomb in the face of its inability to fend off Israeli attacks. The ministers also urged Iran to withdraw its threat to reduce cooperation with the UN nuclear inspectorate the IAEA. The trio warned escalation would only cut Iran off from the remaining path back to diplomacy.
At the same time some European officials admitted before the call they had no guarantees Trump would press Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, to cease what was proving to be a devastatingly successful assault on the whole Iranian security apparatus.
Iran had said it would reopen talks with the US on its nuclear programme only once Washington orders Israel to stop its bombing campaign. Some European officials admitted they could not be sure whether Trump still wanted to reach a diplomatic deal with Iran or had irrevocably, if covertly, committed to backing Israel’s efforts to destroy Iran’s nuclear program through force.
A G7 leaders’ statement issued late on Monday urged de-escalation, but reiterated Israel’s “right to defend itself” and labelled Iran “the principal source of regional instability and terror”.
“We will remain vigilant to the implications for international energy markets and stand ready to coordinate, including with like-minded partners, to safeguard market stability,” the statement said.
Israel has been pressing for the US to join the assault, but there was no clear indication that Trump’s return to Washington was a prelude to direct US military action. The White House and the Pentagon strongly played down any suggestion that the US was about to join the conflict, saying instead the US was maintaining its defensive posture.
In his comments backing a ceasefire, Macron said any attempt at regime change through force would be a strategic error.
Speaking to media at the G7, Macron said: “Anyone who believes that by striking with bombs from outside you save a country in spite of itself and against itself has always been wrong.”
