Donald Trump said the US was not going to assassinate Iran’s supreme leader “at least not for now” as Sir Keir Starmer played down the prospect of an imminent American intervention in the Middle East crisis.
The US president abruptly left Sir Keir and allies at a major global summit amid the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran.
The Prime Minister said “nothing” he had heard from the US president suggested Washington was poised to get involved as western leaders continue to press for de-escalation between the two long-time foes.
But within hours, Mr Trump said his patience was wearing thin with Iran and suggested Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was an “easy target” who the US could “take out” if it chose.
Writing on his Truth Social platform, Mr Trump said: “We know exactly where the so-called ‘Supreme Leader’ is hiding.
“He is an easy target, but is safe there – We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now.
“But we don’t want missiles shot at civilians, or American soldiers. Our patience is wearing thin.”
Without further explanation he also wrote “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!” on the platform.
And he suggested the US had “complete and total control of the skies over Iran”.
Mr Trump left the G7 conference in Canada a day early to deal with what he called “big stuff” and urged Iranian citizens to evacuate from Tehran, which triggered speculation that American forces might join Israeli strikes.
Asked whether the US could get involved as the conflict threatens to spiral into all-out war, Sir Keir told reporters with him at the conference in Kananaskis: “There is nothing the president said that suggests he’s about to get involved in this conflict. On the contrary, the G7 statement was about de-escalation.”
In a statement on Monday before Mr Trump’s departure, leaders had reiterated their “commitment to peace and stability” but stopped short of calling for a truce between Israel and Iran.
The Prime Minister said the wording “faithfully reflects” the discussions of allies around the table.
“I don’t think anything that the president said either here or elsewhere suggests that,” he said when pressed on the prospect of imminent US involvement.
“I think that the statement really speaks for itself in terms of the shared position of everybody who was here at the G7.”
The Prime Minister was asked whether Britain would potentially support the US if it took action to limit Iran’s nuclear programme, which leaders have condemned.
“On nuclear, Iran’s nuclear programme, I’ve been very clear. We are deeply concerned about the programme. I certainly do not want Iran to have a nuclear weapon,” he said.
“But the thrust of the statement is in accordance with what I was saying on the way out here, which is to de-escalate the situation, and to de-escalate it across the region rather than to escalate it.”
In Westminster, not long after Mr Trump’s Truth Social posts, Defence Secretary John Healey suggested the US president was “leading the calls” for a diplomatic solution to the Iran-Israel conflict.
“I would say that you have seen the UK and the US, and other countries all calling for de-escalation, all calling for renewed diplomacy and you hear President Trump leading the charge and leading the calls for Iran to do a deal,” Mr Healey said at the Royal United Services Institute’s Land Warfare conference.
Hours after signing the Middle East agreement, Mr Trump has suggested that he was not interested in a truce while also attacking French President Emmanuel Macron, who had told French media that the US leader was leaving early to negotiate a ceasefire.
Asked whether he was disappointed in the apparent US move to act unilaterally in relation to the conflict amid concerns the G7 could be sidelined, Sir Keir played down divisions.
He told reporters: “I think what (the president) said was he wanted to go beyond a ceasefire effectively and end the conflict.
“And I think he’s right about that. I mean, a ceasefire is always a means to an end.”
A joint communique from the summit was not expected as leaders struggled to find unity on issues like Ukraine, with Mr Trump indicating his reluctance to impose sanctions on Russia.
Instead, host prime minister Mark Carney of Canada issued a “chair’s summary” insisting the group “continues to demonstrate its value as a platform for advanced economies to… address issues of peace and security”.
Mr Carney also said Ottawa would hit Russia with further sanctions, as the UK did on Tuesday, as well as providing 2 billion Canadian dollars in aid to Kyiv.
As well as taking part in plenary sessions with the wider group , the Prime Minister also held face-to-face meetings with the leaders of Ukraine, Australia and South Korea on the fringes of the summit.
Sir Keir and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky agreed to convene the next meeting over the so-called “coalition of the willing”, plans led by Britain and France to send peacekeeping troops to help protect Kyiv, in the coming weeks.
Elsewhere, he and newly elected South Korean president Lee Jae-myung agreed to complete an upgrade to the free trade agreement between London and Seoul.
“Both leaders agreed to aim to complete the upgrade to the existing Free Trade Agreement between the two countries as soon as possible,” Number 10 said.
