Trump says his G7 summit departure not linked to any Israel-Iran ceasefire offer

By Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Donald Trump said late on Monday 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 U.S. 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 U.S. 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 U.S. 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.

Israel, the U.S. 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.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Lincoln Feast.)