President Donald Trump denied reports on Tuesday that he left the G7 summit in Canada early to work on a cease-fire between Israel and Iran, hinting that it was for something ‘much bigger.’
Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One during an overnight flight back to Washington that he was looking to achieve something better than a cease-fire and would meet with advisers in the Situation Room early Tuesday.
‘We’re looking at better than a cease-fire,’ Trump said. ‘We’re not looking for a cease-fire. I didn’t say that I was looking for a cease-fire.’
When asked what was better than a cease-fire, Trump responded, ‘An end. A real end, not ceasefire. An end.’ The president added that ‘giving up entirely’ was also an option.
Trump earlier denied reports that he was rushing back to Washington to work on a cease-fire, saying on his Truth Social platform that ‘it certainly has nothing to do with a Cease Fire. Much bigger than that.’
Trump also issued an ominous warning on the platform Monday evening, writing that ‘IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON,’ and adding ‘Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!’
When reporters aboard Air Force One asked about his call for the residents of Tehran to evacuate, Trump said there was no threat, but ‘there’s a lot of bad things happening and I think it’s safer for them to evacuate.’
Trump, however, echoed his stance on Iran’s nuclear program.
‘Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, it’s very simple,’ Trump told reporters.
He accused Iranian leaders of being unwilling to reach an agreement over their nuclear program, and suggested he was now less interested in talking with them.
‘They should have done the deal. I told them, ‘Do the deal,’’ Trump said. ‘So I don’t know. I’m not too much in the mood to negotiate.’
When Trump was asked again if the U.S. getting involved militarily would ensure a wipeout of Iran’s nuclear program, Trump said, ‘I hope their program is going to be wiped out long before that. They’re not going to have a nuclear weapon.’
While Trump appeared bearish on negotiations, he said that he may consider sending Vice President JD Vance and U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff to meet with the Iranians.
‘It depends on what happens when I get back,’ Trump said of the Israel-Iran conflict, telling reporters that ‘nobody’s slowed up so far.’
Fox News’ Kaitlin Sprague, Luke Trevisan and Nick Rojas contributed to this report.