G7 urges Middle East de-escalation

“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,” said the joint statement released by Canada.

Centreline Report

Kananaskis, Canada, G7 leaders on Monday called for “de-escalation” in the Middle East starting with the Israel-Iran conflict, as US President Donald Trump hastily left the group’s summit.

Trump, who was making his return to the international diplomatic calendar, departed the gathering in the Canadian Rockies a day early as ally Israel pounded Iran.

After a day of statements backing diplomacy, Trump ominously took to social media to sound a warning to people in the Iranian capital, whose population is nearly 10 million.

“Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!” he wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Having earlier hesitated at backing a joint statement on the crisis, Trump relented during a dinner at a forested lodge under the snow-capped mountains in Kananaskis.

“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,” said the joint statement released by Canada.

The statement said Israel “has a right to defend itself” and stressed “the importance of the protection of civilians,” as the growing attacks kill civilians on both sides.

The leaders of the club of industrial democracies — Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States — stated their conviction that Iran “can never have a nuclear weapon.”

Trump for weeks said he favored diplomacy, and his envoy Steve Witkoff met five times with Iranian envoys, but he quickly backed Israel’s strikes and said Tehran’s clerical state should have agreed to his terms.

At a group photo with fellow G7 leaders before the dinner, Trump said: “I have to be back as soon as I can. I wish I could stay for tomorrow, but they understand, this is big stuff.”

French President Emmanuel Macron suggested the United States was ready to make a diplomatic overture.

“There was an offer made for a meeting and an exchange,” Macron told reporters.

“If the United States can obtain a ceasefire, it is a very good thing,” he added.

Soon after his early exit, Trump rebuked his French counterpart, accusing Macron of mischaracterizing the reason for his departure.

“Publicity seeking President Emmanuel Macron, of France, mistakenly said that I left the G7 Summit, in Canada, to go back to D.C. to work on a ‘cease fire’ between Israel and Iran,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

“Wrong! He has no idea why I am now on my way to Washington, but it certainly has nothing to do with a Cease Fire. Much bigger than that. Whether purposely or not, Emmanuel always gets it wrong. Stay tuned!”

Before his decision to leave early was announced, Trump had told reporters: “As soon as I leave here, we’re going to be doing something.”

He has repeatedly declined to say if the United States would participate in Israeli military action, although he has said Washington was not involved in initial strikes and the White House said US forces remained in a defensive posture.