President Donald Trump urged residents of Tehran to evacuate immediately after telling the country it should have signed a nuclear deal with the United States when talks were on the table.
The president arrived back in Washington after leaving early the Group of Seven summit in Alberta, Canada, where he and other world leaders discussed the now five-day-old air war between Israel and Iran.
French President Emmanuel Macron told reporters Trump was returning to Washington to work on a ceasefire between the arch-enemies. Trump refuted that.
“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 on his Truth Social platform early on June 17. He told reporters on his flight home that he’d be holding meetings in the White House situation room and that he returned to Washington, “Just to be a little bit, I think, more well versed, not having to use telephones so much.”
Trump said he wants something that’s “better than a ceasefire,” without elaborating.
Residents poured out of Tehran amid Israeli airstrikes. Heavy traffic was seen on the Karaj-Chalus road as cars moved west out of the Iranian capital.
Trump had said for days that Iran should make a deal. But his message became more dire as he warned the Iranian capital’s roughly 10 million residents to flee in the dead of night.
“IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON. I said it over and over again! Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!” he said in a post on Truth Social.
The warning came as Israel stepped up attacks on Iranian cities, and the warring nations exchanged volleys of air strikes.
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