Compiled from news service reports
President Donald Trump hinted at direct U.S. involvement in the Israel-Iran war, called for the Iranian regime’s “unconditional surrender,” and threatened the life of Iran’s supreme leader.
In a series of messages of social media on Monday, Trump said “we now have complete and total control of the skies over Iran,” called for Iran’s “unconditional surrender,” and stated that the United States knows “exactly where” Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is hiding — calling him an “easy target” but saying he would not be killed “at least not for now.”
“Iran had good sky trackers and other defensive equipment, and plenty of it, but it doesn’t compare to American made, conceived, and manufactured ‘stuff.’ Nobody does it better than the good ol’ USA,” Trump wrote in one of the posts.
In a follow-up message, Trump said that they knew the exact location of Iran’s supreme leader and that eliminating him would be easy.
“We know exactly where the so-called ‘supreme leader’ is hiding. He is an easy target, but is safe there,” Trump wrote. “We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now. But we don’t want missiles shot at civilians, or American soldiers. Our patience is wearing thin.”
A third message called for Iran’s unconditional surrender.
A request for clarification sent to the White House on whether Trump’s posts reflect direct U.S. military involvement in Iranian airspace — and imply possible escalation — was not immediately returned. In response to an inquiry, the Pentagon deferred to the White House.
G7 Backs Israel, Labels Iran ‘Source of Instability’
G7 leaders reiterated their support for Israel’s security and identified Iran as a source of instability in the Middle East, the group said in a Monday statement.
The leaders of the United States, the UK, Japan, France, Italy, Germany, the European Union, and host nation Canada also called for a de-escalation of hostilities in the region.
“Iran is the principal source of regional instability and terror. We have been consistently clear that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon,” the leaders said in the statement.
They called for “the resolution of the Iranian crisis” and “a broader de-escalation of hostilities in the Middle East, including a ceasefire in Gaza.”
Trump gave his blessing to publish the statement without seeing the final draft, saying aboard Air Force One that he had authorized officials to say certain things.
Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei lambasted the statement from the G7, describing it as containing “one-sided rhetoric” and showing a disregard for “Israel’s blatant aggression against Iran.”
Baqaei said in a statement posted on the social media platform X that the G7 leaders “have to call a spade a spade” and accused Israel of “unlawful attacks on our peaceful nuclear infrastructure.”
“The path to regional stability requires an immediate end to Israel’s aggression and accountability for its violations of international law,” he said. “The G7 must abandon its one-sided rhetoric and address the real source of escalation: Israel’s AGGRESSION.”
The G7 statement was issued amid Trump’s abrupt departure Monday from the meeting in the Canadian Rocky Mountain village of Kananaskis, Alberta.
“President Trump had a great day at the G7, even signing a major trade deal with the United Kingdom and Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Much was accomplished, but because of what’s going on in the Middle East, President Trump will be leaving tonight after dinner with heads of state,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on X.
After Trump and other leaders posed for a group photo at the G7 summit, the U.S. president said, “You probably see what I see, and I have to be back as soon as I can.”
Trump later criticized French President Emmanuel Macron following the Frenchman’s assertion that the American leader’s hurried departure was because of a U.S. offer of a cease-fire between Israel and Iran.
“There is indeed an offer to meet and exchange. An offer was made especially to get a cease-fire and to then kick-start broader discussions,” Macron told reporters in Kananaskis.
Later, in a post on Truth Social, Trump said his French counterpart was 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,” Trump wrote.
Trump later said he wanted a “real end” to the nuclear issue with Iran, with Tehran “giving up entirely” on atomic weapons.
He also suggested that he may send U.S. Vice President JD Vance or U.S. Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff to meet with Iranian officials.
Trump made the comments aboard Air Force One as he departed the summit.
He also said Israel would not be easing strikes against Iran.
“You’re going to find out over the next two days. You’re going to find out. Nobody’s slowed up so far,” Trump said.
Later, via a post on Truth Social, he said: “I have not reached out to Iran for ‘peace talks’ in any way, shape, or form. This is just more highly fabricated, fake news! If they want to talk, they know how to reach me. They should have taken the deal that was on the table — would have saved a lot of lives!!!”
Israel attacked Iran on Friday in what it called “Operation Rising Lion,” describing it as a preemptive strike to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons.
Since then, Israel and Iran have exchanged blows, with Iranian officials reporting 224 deaths, mostly civilians, while Israel stated that 24 of its civilians had been killed, as of the publication of this story.
Vance: Trump ‘Amazingly Consistent’ on Iran
Vance said on Tuesday that Trump has been “amazingly consistent” on Iran amid the conflict between that country and Israel.
In a lengthy post on social media platform X, Vance explained how this has been the case.
“First, POTUS has been amazingly consistent, over 10 years, that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. Over the last few months, he encouraged his foreign policy team to reach a deal with the Iranians to accomplish this goal,” he said.
“The president has made clear that Iran cannot have uranium enrichment. And he said repeatedly that this would happen one of two ways — the easy way or the ‘other’ way.”
Vance sought to distinguish between Iran having a nuclear program and a program producing civilian nuclear energy.
“Iran could have civilian nuclear power without enrichment, but Iran rejected that. Meanwhile, they’ve enriched uranium far above the level necessary for any civilian purpose. They’ve been found in violation of their non-proliferation obligations by the International Atomic Energy Agency, which is hardly a right-wing organization,” he said.
“It’s one thing to want civilian nuclear energy. It’s another thing to demand sophisticated enrichment capacity. And it’s still another to cling to enrichment while simultaneously violating basic non-proliferation obligations and enriching right to the point of weapons-grade uranium.”
Vance expressed appreciation for Trump’s maintaining the U.S. military focus on protecting both U.S. troops and citizens.
“He may decide he needs to take further action to end Iranian enrichment. That decision ultimately belongs to the president,” he noted.
“But I believe the president has earned some trust on this issue. And having seen this up close and personal, I can assure you that he is only interested in using the American military to accomplish the American people’s goals. Whatever he does, that is his focus.”
Meanwhile, Trump criticized former Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson for warning about war with Iran and for suggesting the United States should stay out of the matter completely, with the president directing a post on Truth Social on Monday toward Carlson, writing in all caps, “Iran can not have a nuclear weapon!”
On Friday, Carlson called those who want the United States involved in a war with Iran “warmongers.”
“The real divide isn’t between people who support Israel and people who support Iran or the Palestinians. The real divide is between those who casually encourage violence, and those who seek to prevent it — between warmongers and peacemakers,” Carlson wrote on X.
“Who are the warmongers? They would include anyone who’s calling Donald Trump today to demand air strikes and other direct US military involvement in a war with Iran.”
Talking to reporters on Capitol Hill, Vance denied that his Tuesday post was addressed to Republican supporters concerned with Trump’s posture on Iran.
“I think it’s addressed to everybody who’s interested. Why are we talking about Iran right now, why is it in the news, and why does it matter as a matter, as a question, of administration policy?” he said. “So it’s not targeted to any particular demographic of the country, but I think a lot of people don’t fully appreciate that.”
Tom Ozimek, Guy Birchall, Jackson Richman and Nathan Worcester contributed to this report.
