Trump denies G7 exit linked to Israel-Iran ceasefire

Donald Trump says his early departure from the Group of Seven nations summit has "nothing to do with" working on a ceasefire between Israel and Iran, denying comments by French President Emmanuel Macron who said the US president made a ceasefire proposal.

Macron "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 his Truth Social platform as he left the G7 summit in Canada to return to Washington.

"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 added in the post.

Macron said earlier on Monday Trump had made an offer for 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 kick-start broader discussions," Macron told reporters at the G7.

Trump left the G7 summit in Canada early to return to Washington due to the Middle East situation.

In his Truth Social post, the US president called Macron a "publicity seeking" leader and added: "Whether purposely or not, Emmanuel always gets it wrong."

The French embassy in Washington had no immediate comment outside work hours.

The air war between Iran and US ally Israel - which began on Friday when Israel attacked Iran with air strikes - has raised alarms in a region that had already been on edge since the start of Israel's military assault on Gaza in October 2023.

Since the Israeli strikes on Friday, the two Middle Eastern rivals have exchanged blows, with Iranian officials reporting over 220 deaths, mostly civilians, while Israel said 24 civilians were killed.

Earlier in the day, G7 nations released a statement expressing their support for Israel and urging broader de-escalation of hostilities in the region.

"We affirm that Israel has a right to defend itself. We reiterate our support for the security of Israel," G7 leaders said in the statement issued late on Monday.

"Iran is the principal source of regional instability and terror," the statement added and said the G7 was "clear that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon."

Trump had earlier urged everyone to immediately evacuate Tehran, and reiterated that Iran should have signed a nuclear deal with the United States.

Israel, the US and other Western nations have long sought to pressure Iran to curb its nuclear weapons development.

Tehran denies seeking nuclear weapons and has said it has the right to develop nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, including enrichment, as a party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Israel, which is not a party to the NPT, is the only country in the Middle East widely believed to have nuclear weapons.

Washington said Trump was still aiming for a nuclear deal with Iran.

"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," the G7 statement said, adding the nations were also ready to coordinate on safeguarding stability in energy markets.

Speaking alongside Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney earlier, Trump said the former Group of Eight had been wrong to kick out Russia in 2014 after it annexed Crimea.

"This was a big mistake," Trump said, adding he believed Russia would not have invaded Ukraine in 2022 had Putin not been ejected.

"Putin speaks to me. He doesn't speak to anybody else ... he's not a happy person about it. I can tell you that he basically doesn't even speak to the people that threw him out, and I agree with him," Trump said.

Though Trump stopped short of saying Russia should be reinstated in the group, his comments had raised doubts about how much Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy can achieve when he is schedule to meet the leaders on Tuesday.

with Reuters and DPA