Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on June 17, 2025
3 min readLast updated: January 23, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleThe G7 supports Israel, calling Iran a source of instability. The ongoing Israel-Iran conflict raises regional tensions, urging broader de-escalation.
By Kanishka Singh
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Group of Seven nations expressed support for Israel in a statement issued late on Monday and labeled its rival Iran as a source of instability in the Middle East, with the G7 leaders urging broader de-escalation of hostilities in the region.
The air war between Iran and 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.
"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.
"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."
Israel attacked Iran on Friday in what it called a preemptive strike to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons. Since then the two Middle Eastern rivals have exchanged blows, with Iranian officials reporting over 220 deaths, mostly civilians, while Israel said 24 civilians were killed.
Iran 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. Israel does not deny or confirm that.
President Donald Trump planned to leave the G7 summit in Canada early to return to Washington due to the Middle East situation.
The United States has so far maintained that it is not involved in the Israeli attacks on Iran although Trump said on Friday the U.S. was aware of Israel's strikes in advance and called them "excellent." Washington has warned Tehran not to attack U.S. interests or personnel in the region.
"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.
An Israeli strike hit Iran's state broadcaster on Monday while Trump said in a social media post that "everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran."
Separately, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also discussed the Israel-Iran war in phone calls with his British, French and European Union counterparts on Monday.
Washington said Trump was still aiming for a nuclear deal with Iran.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Shri Navaratnam)
The G7 leaders affirmed that Israel has a right to defend itself and reiterated their support for the security of Israel.
The G7 labeled Iran as the principal source of regional instability and terror, stating that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon.
The conflict escalated when Israel conducted air strikes against Iran, which it described as a preemptive strike to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
President Trump planned to leave the G7 summit early to return to Washington due to the escalating situation in the Middle East.
The G7 urged that the resolution of the Iranian crisis should lead to a broader de-escalation of hostilities in the Middle East, including a ceasefire in Gaza.
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