G7 summit: World leaders scramble to contain Israel-Iran conflict, Donald Trump calls for immediate talks

The Group of Seven summit has begun in Canada with world leaders scrambling to contain the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, with US President Donald Trump reiterating his call for the two countries to start negotiating.

“They should talk, and they should talk immediately,” he told reporters.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said all G7 leaders agree they “have to find a way to de-escalate the situation” in the Middle East because the Israel-Iran conflict risks inflaming the “tinderbox” of the Gaza Strip and hurting the global economy.

Mr Starmer said he had spoken to Mr Trump about the issue, adding “the risk of the conflict escalating is obvious, I think, and the implications, not just for the region but globally, are really immense, so the focus has to be on de-escalation”.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz told reporters on Monday ahead of the summit beginning in the Canadian Rocky Mountains that Germany is planning to draw up a final communique proposal on the Israel-Iran conflict that will stress that “Iran must under no circumstances be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons-capable material”.

But as Mr Trump met with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, he also stressed it was a mistake to remove Russia from the organisation in 2014 and doing so had destabilised the world.

He also suggested it could be a good idea to add China to the G7.

The US President also seemed to put a greater priority on his planned emphasis on addressing his grievances with other countries’ trade policies.

“Our primary focus will be trade,” Mr Trump said of his talks with Mr Carney.

This year’s G7 summit is full of combustible tensions and it is unclear how the gathered world leaders can work together to resolve them.

Mr Trump already has hit several dozen countries with severe tariffs that risk a global economic slowdown.

There is little progress on settling the wars in Ukraine and the Gaza Strip, and now a new conflict between Israel and Iran.

“We’re gathering at one of those turning points in history,” Mr Carney said.

“The world’s more divided and dangerous.”

But as the news media was escorted from the opening session, Mr Carney could be heard as he turned to Mr Trump and referenced how his remarks about the Middle East, Russia and China had already drawn attention to the summit.

“Mr President, I think you’ve answered a lot of questions already,” Mr Carney said.

Mr Trump wants to focus on trade although he may have to balance those issues with the broader need by the G7 countries - which also include France, Italy and Japan - to project a united front.

Leaders who are not part of the G7 but have been invited to the summit by Carney include the heads of state of Australia, India, Ukraine, Brazil, South Africa, South Korea, Mexico and the United Arab Emirates.

The G7 briefly expanded to the G8 with Russia as a member, only for Russia to be expelled in 2014 after annexing Crimea and taking a foothold in Ukraine that preceded its 2022 invasion of the country.