US President Donald Trump issued a strong statement on June 17, 2025, calling for everyone to leave Tehran immediately due to the ongoing conflict between Iran and Israel. In a post on the Truth Social platform, he emphasized that Iran had missed the opportunity to sign the nuclear deal it had proposed, which he said had led to “a disgrace and a waste of human life.”

"Iran cannot have nuclear weapons. I repeat this again and again! Everyone must evacuate Tehran immediately!" - Trump wrote.

The statement came amid escalating fighting sparked by Israel's Operation Rising Lion, launched on June 13, and Iran's retaliatory missile strikes. At the same time, Trump's press secretary Carolyn Levitt said the president had left the G7 summit in Canada early to return to Washington because of the "critical situation in the Middle East."

The conflict between Israel and Iran has reached unprecedented intensity. According to Reuters, the Israeli Air Force has carried out more than 400 strikes on Iranian military and nuclear sites, including the Natanz complex, where the IAEA said it destroyed 15 centrifuges, and Shahed drone depots. Iran has responded with massive attacks, firing more than 000 missiles and drones at Israel, causing destruction in Tel Aviv and Haifa. According to The Times of Israel, 900 people have been killed in Israel, while more than 62 people, including 500 civilians, have been killed in Iran, according to the Tasnim news agency. On the night of June 180, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced the ninth wave of Operation True Promise 17, including attacks by Shahed-3 drones with a range of 107 km, which continue until dawn.

Trump's call for Tehran to be evacuated has sparked speculation. According to Axios, the US is not participating in Israel's offensive operations, but is providing intelligence and intercepting Iranian missiles. The deployment of the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier to the Mediterranean and tanker aircraft to Europe, as reported by Bloomberg, indicates Washington is preparing for a possible escalation. Trump's statement is likely due to concerns that Israeli strikes could affect civilian infrastructure in Tehran, where power outages and escapes from rehabilitation centers have already been reported in the chaos, Iran International reports. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, holed up in a bunker in the Lavisan district, has called for "severe retaliation," raising tensions.