President Trump heads to Canada on Sunday for the first gathering of the Group of Seven (G-7) alliance since he returned to office in January, a summit that has taken on fresh urgency amid rising tensions in the Middle East.
Canada will play host to the gathering of world leaders days after Israel and Iran traded attacks on Friday, risking a further escalation in a simmering situation in the region.
The gathering also comes after Trump has for months openly mused about annexing his neighbor to the north as a 51st state. Leaders are also expected to discuss key issues like trade and the war in Ukraine.
Here are five things to watch.
Israel and Iran strikes take centerstage
The G-7 comes at a precarious time in the Middle East after Israel carried out strikes against Iran, which soon retaliated. Residential neighborhoods in both Tel Aviv and Tehran were targets, as were Iranian nuclear sites and military bases.
The Trump administration had been attempting to broker an agreement with Tehran to limit its nuclear capabilities, something the president has indicated it may still try to do in the wake of the Israeli attack. Other world leaders have urged de-escalation, wary of another wider conflict in the region.
Trump on Friday morning told ABC News that Iran missed its chance for talks.
“I think it's been excellent,” Trump said of the Israeli strikes. “We gave them a chance and they didn't take it. They got hit hard, very hard. They got hit about as hard as you're going to get hit. And there's more to come. A lot more.”
When the first strikes were launched, the Trump administration quickly distanced itself from the Israeli operation. On Friday, a U.S. official confirmed it was helping Israel intercept missiles coming into Israel from Iran.
By midday on Friday, Trump told NBC News that Iran may have another opportunity to make a deal over its nuclear program and indicated that the Iranians are calling him and reaching out. Israel then came under a heavy bombardment from Iran.
Trump had cautioned Israel the day before the strikes were launched that attacks on Iranian sites could threaten the U.S.’s nuclear talks.
“As long as I think there is an agreement, I don’t want them going in because I think that would blow it. Might help it, actually. But also could blow it,” Trump told reporters on Thursday when asked if he had advised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against firing into Iran.
Trump visits Canada amid 51st state talk
Trump’s insistence that Canada would be better off being absorbed into the U.S. is sure to linger over his visit to the country, even if it is not on the agenda in a formal way.
Trump is set to have a one-on-one meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Monday.
The president spent the weeks after his November electoral victory suggesting Canada should become a state and mocking then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as “governor.” Trump has claimed the U.S. has no need for Canadian imports, while Canada needs the U.S. for business and military protection.
Trump hosted Carney at the White House in early May, where Trump doubled down on his suggestion that Canada would benefit from becoming the 51st state even as Carney was adamant it would not happen.
“I say ‘never say never.’ I’ve had many, many things that were not doable, and they ended up being doable,” Trump said. “Canada loves us, and we love Canada. That’s I think the number one thing that’s important. But we’ll see. Over time, we’ll see what happens.”
Canadian politicians and citizens have signaled they are opposed to the idea of becoming part of the United States, and it’s possible Trump will face some protests or demonstrations while in Canada.
The summit is being held in Kananaskis, a less populated area in the Canadian Rockies where it may be less likely to see demonstrations or public opposition to Trump and other leaders.
Trade deadline looms
Trump’s 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs on all trading partners expires on July 8, which would give the administration a few more weeks to negotiate deals on tariffs while only agreements with China and the United Kingdom have been announced.
Multiple key trading partners will be at this week’s summit, including Japan and members of the European Union.
But, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested in testimony to lawmakers on Capitol Hill on Wednesday that the July 8 deadline could have some wiggle room for certain countries.
“It is highly likely that for those countries that are negotiating – or trading blocs, in the case of the EU – who are negotiating in good faith, we will roll the date forward to continue the good-faith negotiation,” Bessent said. “If someone is not negotiating, then we will not.”
The administration had ambitious goals for their negotiations, aiming for 90 deals in 90 days. They have teased that deals with trading partners like India, Japan and Vietnam are close to being finalized, but haven’t announced anything concrete.
Trump on Thursday said officials from India were in D.C. negotiating a trade deal and that he thought Pakistan officials would be in Washington next week for negotiations.
The White House is looking for wins on its trade policy after Trump had to pause his hefty tariffs in April amid pressure from Republicans and Wall Street over concerns that an aggressive policy could lead the U.S. into a recession.
The president had also previously suggested that if there is no agreement between the U.S. and other countries, he and his aides will determine an appropriate tariff rate to impose moving forward.
Russia-Ukraine war
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to be at the G-7 but the White House hasn’t announced if Trump will meet one-on-one with him.
Ukraine and Russia’s war is a particularly challenging spot for Trump, after he vowed on the 2024 campaign trail to end the ongoing war within 24 hours of taking office but has made little apparent headway about five months later.
Russia has so far refused U.S. proposals for a 30-day ceasefire and Trump has expressed increasing frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who he recently said had gone “absolutely CRAZY.”
Trump on Thursday placed blame on both countries.
“I’m very disappointed in Russia, but I’m disappointed in Ukraine also because I think deals could have been made,” he said.
Trump has also grown impatient with Zelensky, saying the Ukrainian president needs to do more to stop the war. When Zelensky visited the White House in February, the meeting quickly unraveled into a public spat when Vice President JD Vance suggested Zelensky wasn’t thankful enough to Trump for the help he has given his country.
The president spoke with Putin earlier this month in the aftermath of a Ukrainian drone attack on Russian bombers. He said the conversation was “good” but not one that “will lead to immediate peace.”
Additionally, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth raised eyebrows this week when he told senators it “remains to be seen” if Putin would “stop at Ukraine” while Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Gen. Dan “Razin” Caine said he did not believe Putin would stop at Ukraine if he succeeded in taking over the country.
Month of alliance meetings
The president will travel to The Hague for the NATO Summit later this month, making June a month of meetings with allies.
Some notable world leaders from outside the G-7 membership, including Zelensky, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will be at the summit this week in Canada. The White House has said Trump will hold meetings on the sidelines, but didn’t confirm with whom.
“I can confirm there will be quite a few bilateral meetings between Trump and other foreign leaders. The White House is still working very hard to finalize that schedule,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Wednesday.
This year’s NATO summit will take place June 24 and 25. It will mark the first gathering for the alliance since Trump took office.
Where former President Biden made support for NATO a cornerstone of his foreign policy, Trump has previously cast doubt on whether the U.S. would protect other members of the alliance if they had not contributed enough to defense spending.
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