President Donald Trump jolted the Group of Seven summit Monday evening when he posted on Truth Social that “everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran,” repeating in all caps his long-held stance that “IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON.” Minutes later the White House announced the president would leave Banff, Canada, a day early and convene the National Security Council in Washington. A press charter departed Calgary just after 11 p.m. Eastern with senior advisers, while U.S. military aircraft stood ready at Joint Base Andrews to fly Cabinet principals directly to the Situation Room if needed.
Escalation Behind the Alert
Trump’s evacuation call came as Israel and Iran exchanged missile and drone strikes for a fifth straight day. Israel’s initial salvo—code-named “Operation Rising Lion”—decapitated much of Iran’s military and nuclear leadership, including senior Revolutionary Guard commanders and two uranium-enrichment scientists. Iran responded with hundreds of ballistic and cruise missiles, some of which penetrated Israel’s multilayer air-defense network and killed 24 civilians. Israeli aircraft then struck deeper into Iran, claiming air superiority over Tehran and damaging portions of the Natanz nuclear complex.
