Vance Boelter arrested after two-day manhunt in Midwestern state.
The suspect in the assassination of one lawmaker and the attempted assassination of another in the US state of Minnesota has been captured.
Vance Boelter, 57, was arrested on Sunday following a two-day manhunt in the Midwestern state, law enforcement officials said.
“The face of evil. After relentless and determined police work, the killer is now in custody,” Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office said in a social media post accompanied by a photo of Boelter being taken into custody.
“Thanks to the dedication of multiple agencies working together along with support from the community, justice is one step closer.”
Boelter is alleged to have shot two Democratic lawmakers and their spouses in a politically motivated attack on Saturday morning.
Melissa Hortman, a state representative, and her husband, Mark, were killed in the attack, while state Senator John A Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, were injured.
Boelter faces two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of attempted second-degree murder, according to a criminal complaint unsealed on Sunday night.
Tehran, Iran – Iran has promoted several commanders to the top of its military leadership after Israel killed their predecessors in a series of air attacks.
The leadership of Iran’s General Staff of the Armed Forces and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) has shifted significantly as the country defends against Israeli attacks and launches retaliatory strikes.
Let’s take a look at which commanders were killed, who replaced them, and what this means for the deadly conflict going forward.
How senior were the killed commanders?
Some of Iran’s top military leaders were killed during Israel’s multipronged assault, which started early Friday.
Iran’s highest-ranking military commander, General Mohammad Bagheri, was among the casualties. The veteran of the Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s was chief of staff of the armed forces and only answered to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Other members of the General Staff of the Armed Forces were also among the dead, including Deputy for Operations Mehdi Rabani and Deputy for Intelligence Gholamreza Mehrabi.
The IRGC also lost a considerable number of top figures in its command chain, chief among them being Hossein Salami, the leader of the force.
The elite aerospace division of the IRGC, which is tasked with developing Iran’s sprawling missile programme, confirmed the killing of eight senior commanders who were convening in an underground bunker in Tehran.
Longtime aerospace chief Ali Akbar Hajizadeh was among those killed, as were commanders leading the missile defence and drone wings of the force.
Who are the new commanders?
Khamenei tapped Abdolrahim Mousavi, the commander-in-chief of Iran’s army, to become the new chief of staff of the armed forces.
The 65-year-old brigadier general has now become the first army commander to assume the position – previous figures who held the post came from within the IRGC.
Mousavi is also a war veteran and completed his military training and studies at the Supreme National Defense University in the aftermath of Iran’s Islamic revolution of 1979.
To lead the IRGC, Khamenei selected Mohammad Pakpour, a veteran commander who started and made his career within the elite force. He led the IRGC’s armoured units and then a combat division during the war with Iraq in the 1980s.
General Mohammad Pakpour is the new head of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps [File: AFP]
Pakpour led the IRGC ground forces for 16 years before he was appointed commander-in-chief. He was also a deputy for operations at the IRGC and used to lead two major headquarters of the force.
Iran’s supreme leader also promoted Amir Hatami to the rank of major-general, appointing him as commander of the army.
The 59-year-old is another career military man who rose through the ranks during the Iraq invasion, particularly after Operation Mersad. That was when the Mojahedin-e Khalq (MEK), who had helped win the revolution but later fell out with the theocratic establishment, led a ground assault on Iranian soil with Iraqi forces – and were dealt a resounding defeat.
Brigadier General Majid Mousavi is also the new aerospace chief of the IRGC. He is believed to have been a prominent figure working to develop Iran’s ballistic missiles, drone systems, and Western-criticised space launches. He also worked closely with Hassan Tehrani Moghaddam, known as the “father of Iran’s missile programme”, who died in an explosion at a missile depot in 2011 that Iran ruled as accidental.
All newly promoted commanders have proclaimed their commitment to the retaliation against Israel, with slogans on banners across the country reading: “You started the war, we will finish it”.
Hatami said in a statement that, under his command, the army will “deal decisive and effective blows to the fake and child-killing Zionist regime”, referring to Israel.
Continuation
The new commanders have overseen the launch of hundreds of explosives-laden drones and ballistic and cruise missiles fired at Israel over the past three nights, and signalled readiness for a prolonged campaign.
Iran’s projectiles have so far hit military bases and residential buildings, killing at least 14 people and wounding dozens more.
Commanders in Tehran also started hitting Israel’s energy infrastructure overnight into Sunday after Israeli warplanes targeted Iran’s oil and gas facilities, petrochemical, steel and automotive plants, as well as many residential buildings.
Iranian authorities have said more than 220 people, including at least 25 children, were among the victims of Israeli strikes across Iran.
Sounds of explosions continuously rang out across Tehran on Sunday as the Israeli military bombed Niavaran to the north, Saadat Abad to the west, and the Valiasr and Hafte Tir neighbourhoods in downtown Tehran.
Iran has now withstood three days of Israeli attacks, which have killed more than 120 Iranians, including several members of its military leadership.
But its own response has been to hit back in a manner that Israel has never had to experience – with Iranian missiles causing devastating damage in Israel’s biggest cities – including Tel Aviv and Haifa.
How much damage both sides have caused – and in many cases what sites have exactly been hit – is unclear, with accurate facts hard to come by due to the information war that has accompanied the military conflict.
It is also hard to know how many missiles and munitions both sides still have in their stockpiles, and how long Israel and Iran can sustain this fight.
What we do know is that Iran is believed to have the largest missile programme in the Middle East, with thousands of ballistic missiles available with varying ranges and speeds. At the current rate, Iran could likely carry on attacking Israel for weeks – enough time for Israel to experience significant damage, which its population is not used to after years of only really being exposed to attacks from weaker armed groups in the Gaza Strip, Lebanon and Yemen.
Iran is also revealing how effective its more advanced missiles can be. The Haj Qassem missile, used for the first time against Israel on Sunday, was able to evade Israeli air defences, and footage from Israel clearly shows the difference in power and speed compared to the older missiles that Iran had been using in its earlier barrages.
Of course, Iran does not have an unlimited amount of these more advanced missiles, and ultimately will have to ration their use, but coupled with its more standard missiles, and thousands of drones, Iran has enough military ability to cause Israel damage – and confound those who believe that Iran does not have the strength to continue the fight in the short term.
Avoiding a US fight
Israel’s Iron Dome is being severely tested by Iran’s missile barrages, but it has been able to lean on its principal ally, the United States, to provide assistance in intercepting the attacks.
The US, led by President Donald Trump, has insisted, however, that it is not a party to the current conflict between Israel and Iran, and has threatened that the consequences will be severe if Iran does attack US interests in the region, which include military bases dotted throughout the Middle East.
For Iran, any attack on US bases or personnel is a worst-case scenario that it wants to avoid. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has typically made cautious moves and will not want a direct fight with the US, or to give an excuse for Washington to add its own offensive military might to Israel’s.
A joint Israeli-US attack would likely have the ability to destroy Iran’s most well-protected nuclear sites, and give the Israelis a far stronger position.
It would also likely involve attacks against US bases located in countries – such as Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkiye – that are not direct enemies of Iran, and which Tehran will not want to bring into the conflict. These countries are also valuable to Iran as potential mediators.
But Iran has other options. It has has repeatedly threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz, which lies between itself and Oman, immediately stopping the transit of millions of barrels of oil a day. Oil prices – which have already briefly shot up to a high of $78 per barrel on Friday before falling back – would likely rise higher than $100 if that were to happen, experts believe.
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz is a strong card the Iranians have to play, and is a possibility in the short term should the fighting continue.
Off-ramps
But ultimately Iran will be looking for an off-ramp that would end a conflict that has the potential to escalate into a regional war against two nuclear powers – Israel and the US – and cause untold damage to its own economy, with the possibility of domestic unrest as a result.
Iran will also know that while Israel will have its own limit on how much fighting it can endure, the support of the US gives it the ability to replenish munition stocks easier than Iran can.
The Iranian government has already made it clear that it will reciprocate if Israel stops its attacks, and is willing to return to nuclear talks with the US. “Once these [Israeli] attacks come to a stop, we will naturally reciprocate,” Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday.
This, however, depends on the US and its unpredictable president. Trump will need to put pressure on Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to stop, and it is unclear whether the US president is willing to do so.
Trump’s rhetoric on the conflict is constantly changing. On one hand, he has repeated calls for an end to the fighting, while at the same time threatening Iran.
Iran also knows that Trump is not someone who can be trusted or relied on. The US was involved in the deception prior to Israel’s attack last week, with the Americans maintaining the pretence that nuclear talks with Iran would go ahead on Sunday despite secretly knowing that Israel was planning to attack.
Still, an American-brokered agreement is the likeliest option Iran has to restrain Israel and end a conflict that has shown Iran’s strength, but will be increasingly difficult for it to sustain.
Iran has launched a new wave of ballistic missiles against Israel soon after loud explosions were heard in its capital Tehran, as the two countries continue to trade heavy fire for a third consecutive day and as US President Donald Trump hints both at peace coming “soon” and at the possibility of the United States joining the conflict.
On Sunday, residents in Tehran reported shuddering blasts in different areas in the heart of the city. Reports say missiles struck in Niavaran and Tajrish, in the capital’s north, and around the Valiasr and Hafte Tir squares in the city centre.
Other cities attacked by Israel included Shiraz and Isfahan, where a military base of the Defence Ministry was hit. The Israeli army said it struck an aerial refuelling aircraft at Mashhad Airport in eastern Iran, describing it as its longest-range attack since launching operations against Iran last week.
Reporting from Tehran, Al Jazeera’s Tohid Asadi said, “Iran has not experienced a war to this extent since the Iran-Iraq War ended in 1988. There were similar Israeli strikes last year, of course, but nothing compared to what’s been happening since Friday.”
“The government said earlier today that metro stations, schools and mosques are going to be ready to host people. But parts of these facilities, including mosques and schools, do not seem safe enough to be used as a sort of shelter,” he added.
Iranian officials say at least 138 people have been killed in Israel’s onslaught since Friday, including 60 on Saturday, half of them children, when a missile brought down a 14-storey apartment block in Tehran. There were no reports as yet of casualties from Sunday’s attacks.
In Israel, authorities said on Sunday that several missiles were launched from Iran, most of which were intercepted.
Rescue workers were searching for survivors in the rubble from the previous night’s wave of Iranian strikes. The hardest hit area was the town of Bat Yam, where more than 60 buildings were damaged. “Iran will pay a heavy price for the murder of civilians, women and children,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said from a balcony overlooking blown-out apartments in Bat Yam, a city just south of Tel Aviv.
Overnight, Iran struck the port city of Haifa and neighbouring Tamra, where at least four women were killed. Since the start of the conflict on Thursday, at least 13 people have been killed and 380 have been wounded in Israel.
A building shows heavy damage from an Israeli strike targeting the Narmak district in eastern Tehran, on June 15, 2025 [Fatemeh Bahrami /Anadolu Agency]
Al Jazeera’s Nour Odeh, reporting from Amman, Jordan, said, “The damage from Iranian attacks is certainly extensive and unprecedented. This is the first time that Israel has confronted a state with a formidable army in the region, certainly the first time since 1973 [against Egypt]”.
“To the north, in Haifa, oil and gas pipelines were damaged, but activities continue at the oil refineries”, she added.
Israel launched its operation with a surprise attack on Friday that killed several members of the Iranian military’s top echelon, killed several nuclear scientists, and damaged the country’s nuclear sites. Since then, Israel’s attacks have been broadening in their scope, hitting residential areas and Iran’s civilian and energy sectors and raising the stakes for the global economy and the functioning of the Iranian state.
Diplomacy
As both parties continue to pound each other with strikes, hopes for a diplomatic solution seem distant for now, though they will no doubt be high on the agenda of the Group of Seven summit beginning Monday in Canada.
Speaking at a press conference in Tehran on Sunday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran does not seek to expand the conflict to neighbouring countries unless forced to.
Araghchi reaffirmed Iran’s opposition to nuclear weapons but defended its right to peaceful nuclear development. He said Iran had been ready to offer assurances in the now-cancelled sixth round of US talks, which could have led to an agreement, though Israel derailed the diplomatic progress.
The US and Iran have held five rounds of talks since April to try to find a path to a new nuclear deal that would replace a 2015 accord that Trump abandoned during his first term in office.
Araghchi also said Israel’s attacks on his country could not have materialised without the agreement and support of the US.
“We have well-documented and solid evidence of the support provided by American forces in the region and their bases for the military attacks of the Zionist regime”.
He said Trump has publicly and explicitly confirmed he knew about the attacks, that they could not have happened without US weapons and equipment, and that more attacks are coming. “Therefore, the US, in our opinion, is a partner in these attacks and must accept its responsibility.”
Talking to Fox News, Netanyahu seemed to clearly confirm that, saying he informed Trump ahead of launching the attacks.
He described the cooperation with the Trump administration as “unprecedented”, adding that the Israeli intelligence shares “every bit of information” with Washington. Netanyahu projected that regime change in Iran could be a result of Israel’s attacks.
Trump has denied any involvement and warned Tehran not to widen its retaliation to include US targets, but also didn’t rule out more direct US involvement beyond the vast arsenal and intelligence the US provides to Israel.
“If we are attacked in any way, shape or form by Iran, the full strength and might of the U.S. Armed Forces will come down on you at levels never seen before,” the US president said in a message on Truth Social.
He also claimed peace could be reached “soon”, suggesting that many diplomatic meetings were taking place.
“We can easily get a deal done between Iran and Israel, and end this bloody conflict,” he said.
Trump has repeatedly said Iran could end the war by agreeing to tough restrictions on its nuclear programme, which Iran says is for peaceful purposes but Western countries say could be used to make a bomb.
Trump told ABC he would be “open” to Russian President Vladimir Putin being a mediator. “He is ready. He called me about it. We had a long talk about it”.
The US president’s words were a first hint at Washington’s diplomatic involvement in the ongoing conflict. In recent days, the US has ratcheted down its diplomatic presence in countries in the region, anticipating that air strikes on Iranian military sites would be taking place.
Videos show fire and thick plumes of smoke rising from Mashhad Hashemi Nejad airport in eastern Iran following an Israeli missile attack. Israel claims it targeted an Iranian refuelling plane. It would be the furthest strike since the start of the military operation, at a distance of approximately 2,300km.
“We are in an existential war” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the site of the Iranian missile strike that targeted a residential block in Bat Yam, Israel. Netanyahu called the attacks an existential threat and warned of a nuclear-armed Iran.
Iran’s government has defended its retaliatory attacks on Israel as ‘self-defence’ after launching a second barrage of missiles on Saturday night. Iran’s strikes came after Israel’s military bombed civilian areas and energy infrastructure across Iran, saying it was targeting Iran’s nuclear programme.
Israel has unleashed air attacks across Iran for a third day and threatened even greater attacks, while some Iranian missiles have evaded Israeli air defences to strike buildings in the heart of the country.
The region braced for a protracted conflict after Israel’s surprise bombardment of Iran’s nuclear and military sites on Friday killed top generals and nuclear scientists, and neither side has showed any sign of backing down since.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday that if the Israeli strikes on Iran stop, then “our responses will also stop”.
Araghchi said Israel had targeted an oil refinery near Tehran and another in the country’s Bushehr province on the Gulf. He said Iran’s retaliatory strikes also targeted “economic” sites in Israel, without elaborating.
The conflict has raised prospects of a broader assault on Iran’s heavily sanctioned energy industry that could affect global markets.
United States President Donald Trump has expressed full support for Israel’s actions while warning Iran that it can avoid further destruction only by agreeing to a new nuclear deal. But talks scheduled on Sunday in Oman were called off, with Tehran calling the dialogue “meaningless”.
Meanwhile, Israeli attacks have killed at least 80 people and wounded 800 others in Iran over the past two days, including 20 children. In Israel, at least 10 people were killed in overnight strikes by Iran, bringing the country’s total death toll to 13.
Israel’s main international airport and airspace remained closed for a third day.
The incident comes days after an Air India plane crashed in the western Ahmedabad city, killing all but one of the 242 on board.
Seven people, including a toddler, have been killed in India’s northern Uttarakhand state when a helicopter ferrying them for a Hindu pilgrimage crashed in the Himalayas, officials say.
Officials from the Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority told reporters the chopper took off at about 5:30am (00:00 GMT) on Sunday from the temple town of Kedarnath for Guptkashi, a town some 37km (23 miles) away, but crashed shortly after takeoff.
The deceased have been identified as the pilot, Captain Rajveer Singh Chauhan, and passengers Vikram Rawat, Vinod Devi, Trishti Singh, Rajkumar Jaiswal, his wife Shraddha Jaiswal and their two-year-old daughter, Kashi.
The bodies were badly burned in a fire that followed the crash, authorities said.
Uttarakhand’s State Disaster Response Force told the ANI news agency that the crash site is located in a remote and dense forest area, adding that the rescue operation is under way in coordination with the local police.
#WATCH | Rudraprayag, Uttarakhand: Today, a helicopter operating a flight on the sector Shri Kedarnath to Guptkashi was involved in an accident. A total of 07 people were on board this helicopter, who died on the spot. Rescue teams were immediately dispatched under the direction… pic.twitter.com/DFSa7glmrI
Officials said the crash was believed to have been caused by poor weather conditions.
In a post on X, Uttarakhand’s Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami called the incident “very sad”.
Kedarnath, standing at an altitude of 3,584 metres (11,759 feet), is home to one of the four most sacred Hindu temple shrines and receives tens of thousands of pilgrims each year during the summer season.
To avoid the arduous trekking in the mountainous terrain, affluent pilgrims often use helicopter charter services. But mishaps are common in the treacherous region, where sudden weather changes and high-altitude flying conditions can pose risks.
On June 7, a helicopter operating in the Kedarnath Valley made an emergency landing on a highway due to a technical fault shortly after taking off. The pilot was injured, but all five passengers on board were unharmed.
Last month, a helicopter crashed in Uttarakhand’s Uttarkashi district, killing six people, including the pilot. One person survived.
Indian media reports said Sunday’s crash was the fifth such incident in less than two months. It also came only days after an Air India plane crashed in Ahmedabad city, killing all but one of 242 passengers on board and dozens of others on the ground.
Ukraine destroyed three Russian air defence systems in the Russian-controlled Zaporizhia region, Kyiv’s military intelligence said in a post on Telegram on Saturday.
In his nightly address on Saturday, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine’s forces recaptured Andriivka village in the northeastern Sumy region as part of a drive to expel Russian troops from the area.
Diplomacy
Russian President Vladimir Putin told his US counterpart, Donald Trump, on Saturday that Moscow is ready to hold another round of peace negotiations with Kyiv after June 22, when the warring sides complete exchanging prisoners and soldiers’ bodies.
Zelenskyy is set to attend the Group of Seven (G7) meeting in Canada that begins Sunday. He is expected to meet Trump on the sidelines of the summit on June 17.
Discussing sanctions against Russia and achieving a ceasefire is expected to be a part of the G7 agenda. A joint statement of G7 foreign ministers following an earlier meeting in Quebec in mid-March said they “discussed imposing further costs on Russia” if Moscow did not agree to a ceasefire.
Finland accused senior officers of the Eagle S, a Russia-linked vessel that damaged undersea cables last year between Finland and Estonia, of criminal offences related to the wreckage. The European Union’s executive commission has described Eagle S as part of Russia’s shadow fleet of fuel tankers – vessels with obscure ownership, acquired to evade Western sanctions amid the war in Ukraine.
Germany is eager to increase defence spending in the EU’s next budget, the Financial Times reported. Berlin’s move came in response to Russia’s threats to Europe and Trump’s call to the continent to do more for its own security, the report said.
Leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) countries – Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the US – will meet on Sunday in the remote town of Kananaskis, Alberta, nestled in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies, for three days of intense discussions.
This will be the 51st G7 summit meeting. The first took place in 1975 in Rambouillet, France. Back then, it was known as the G6 meeting, as Canada did not become a member until the following year.
Russia joined the forum in 1998, making it the G8, but was effectively expelled in 2014, following its annexation of Crimea. Since then, the forum has been known as the G7.
Tensions at this year’s gathering, taking place June 15-17, are likely to be high for many reasons.
Intense discussions are expected about the unfolding crisis in the Middle East after Israel carried out massive strikes on military and nuclear sites in Iran on Friday. This year’s meeting also takes place against the backdrop of aggressive trade tariffs set – and then paused for all countries except China, which has now reached a deal with the US – by US President Donald Trump earlier this year.
Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney may also still be reeling from comments by Trump that Canada should become the 51st US state. In May, Carney stated that Canada was “not for sale … ever” during a meeting with Trump at the White House.
The G7 represents 44 percent of global gross domestic product (GDP) but only 10 percent of the world’s population. Within the group, the US is by far the largest economy. Having campaigned for the presidency on an “America First” message, Trump has frequently expressed displeasure about how much it contributes to global affairs.
At the last G7 summit attended by Trump in 2018, his national security adviser, John Bolton, posted on social media: “Just another G7 where other countries expect America will always be their bank. The President made it clear today. No more.”
So, who is coming this year and what will they be talking about?
Who is attending the G7 meeting this year?
Canada is hosting this year’s G7 meeting – it’s the seventh time it has assumed the presidency of the group. Besides leaders of the G7 countries and the EU, which is also represented at the summit, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has invited several heads of state from non-G7 countries as guests.
These include Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, who confirmed her attendance on Monday after saying in May that she was undecided, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was invited, but it is unclear whether he will attend.
The invitation for Modi has raised eyebrows in Canada. Relations between India and Canada have been strained since former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused India of assassinating a Sikh separatist leader in Canada in 2023. The World Sikh Organisation said Carney’s invitation was a “betrayal of Sikh Canadians”, and the Sikh Federation of Canada called it “a grave insult”.
But Carney, who is trying to diversify Canadian trade away from the US, defended his decision, saying it makes sense for the G7 to invite India, since it is the world’s fifth-largest economy and is at the heart of a number of trading supply chains.
“In addition, bilaterally, we have now agreed, importantly, to continued law enforcement dialogue, so there’s been some progress on that, that recognises issues of accountability. I extended the invitation to Prime Minister Modi in that context,” Carney told reporters in Ottawa.
In March, Carney also invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to this week’s gathering.
Leaders of Australia, Brazil, Indonesia, South Africa and South Korea are also expected to attend.
[Al Jazeera]
Will they discuss US trade tariffs?
During his current tenure as president, Trump has imposed broad tariffs on every member of the G7, as well as on most other countries around the world, sparking a global trade war in the process. Trump says he wants to reverse large trade deficits between the US and other countries.
However, it is unlikely this issue will be formally addressed during G7 discussions as Carney will primarily be trying to prevent a fallout over trade between the member states, many of whom are still scrambling to secure trade deals with the US.
The UK reached the first trade agreement with the US in May, when it agreed to reduce tariffs on US goods from 5.1 percent to 1.8 percent and provide greater access for US goods. In return, the US dropped higher tariffs, leaving only its universal 10-percent tariff in place.
Both the EU and Japan are hoping to strike their own agreements before the July 9 end of Trump’s 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs.
Trump also had a rocky relationship with the G7 during his first term as US president and left the 2018 summit – also in Canada – in a huff. At the end of what was thought to be a successful gathering, Trump wrote on social media that he had directed his staff not to sign the final communique – the statement G7 countries issue in a show of unity at the end of the summit – and called then-Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau “very dishonest and weak”.
Even though the communique is never usually formally “signed”, the incident pointed to Trump’s unpredictability, experts say.
John Kirton of the G7 Research Group, based at the University of Toronto, said Trump is less likely to cause a scene this year. He told Indian channel NDTV World that Carney is on better terms with Trump and noted that the US is due to host the G7 in 2027. “He doesn’t want to kill the G7 golden goose before he can produce the ‘biggest, best summit ever’ for the whole world stage two years from now,” Kirton said.
So, what will be on the agenda for this G7 meeting?
The G7 2025 summit website lists three core actions on the agenda for this year’s discussions: “Protecting our communities around the world”; “Building energy security and accelerating the digital transition”; and “Securing the partnerships of the future”.
If this does not dominate discussions entirely, other items on the agenda at this year’s G7 summit are likely to be global trade issues, the Russia-Ukraine war and China.
Israel-Iran crisis
Julia Kulik, director of strategic initiatives for the G7 Research Group at the University of Toronto’s Trinity College, said conversations on global peace that would have focused on the Russia-Ukraine conflict and Israel’s war on Gaza will now likely pivot to Iran.
“There will be tough questions from other leaders around the table to Donald Trump about what went wrong with the negotiations and about what he’s going to do to get Israel to de-escalate before things get worse,” Kulik told Al Jazeera.
The G7 “was designed to be a crisis response group with the ability to act and adapt quickly to international challenges … so in some ways it’s good they’re meeting this weekend as they’ll have the ability to respond quickly”, she added.
Robert Rogowsky, professor of trade and economic diplomacy at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, said there is no way G7 members can avoid the subject of the latest crisis in the Middle East. “That attack, counterattack, and the US declaration that it was not involved and its warning about staying away from American assets as targets is likely to be the first thing discussed, as it now creates the possibility of a real, all-out war in the Middle East. The major neighbouring parties will have to decide how to align themselves.” Rogowsky said.
Global trade
While Carney is hoping to cover uncontroversial themes, such as building friendlier global supply chains for materials like critical minerals, China may also be a focus of discussions.
Following a meeting of G7 finance ministers in Canada in May, the group issued a joint communique saying they would continue to monitor “nonmarket policies and practices” which contribute to imbalances in global trade. The statement did not mention China, but “nonmarket policies” often refer to export subsidies and currency policies that the Trump administration says provide an advantage in international trade. The statement was seen as a swipe at China’s trade practices, in particular its lending practices, which many see as adding debt for poorer countries.
Leaders of the G7 are also expected to discuss concerns about rising tensions between China and Taiwan in the East and South China Seas, as well as China’s expanding military presence there.
Russia-Ukraine war
A joint statement of G7 foreign ministers following an earlier meeting in Quebec in mid-March expressed strong support for Kyiv. It said finance ministers had “discussed imposing further costs on Russia” if Moscow did not agree to a ceasefire.
The UK and the EU announced a new round of sanctions against Russia in May, but Trump, who has been conducting discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin, said the US would not follow suit.
Sanctions against Russia and achieving a ceasefire may, therefore, also be a focus of discussions this week.
Global development
This could be a thorny issue.
Global development, particularly in African countries, has long been a primary focus of G7 discussions. However, this year, the US has made clear that it wishes to de-prioritise economic and humanitarian assistance for other countries. It has largely shuttered the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and says it plans large cuts to funding for other health and development initiatives overseas, as well.
What meetings could take place on the sidelines of the G7 summit?
US-EU
Donald Trump is expected to hold meetings with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Japan’s prime minister, Shigeru Ishiba. Both leaders are eager to agree on a trade deal with Trump as soon as possible to avoid reciprocal tariffs, due to come back into place following a pause in early July.
US-Canada-Mexico
Trump, Carney and Mexico’s Claudia Sheinbaum may also hold a separate meeting of North American leaders on trade and border security. In February, Trump postponed his planned 25-percent import tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods at the last minute. Canada’s then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Sheinbaum both agreed to increase border security to prevent the trafficking of drugs and migrants into the US, averting a trade war. Trump says he has been particularly concerned about the flow of the drug fentanyl into the US from both Canada and Mexico.
US-South Africa
South Africa’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa, has told reporters he will have a second meeting with Trump during the G7 summit, following the two leaders’ meeting in Washington, DC, on May 21, when Trump accused South Africa of “genocide” against white farmers. Earlier in May, 59 white “refugees” were flown from South Africa to the US as part of a relocation plan for white South Africans devised by the Trump administration.
Washington, DC – It was the 250th birthday of the United States Army, and Trump’s 79th.
Tanks and other armoured military vehicles rumbled down the streets of Washington, DC, on Saturday, in what Trump had teased as an “unforgettable” event and critics had called a pricey tribute to the “egoist-in-chief”.
Speaking after the hour-long procession, which cut through a balmy evening dotted with raindrops, Trump framed the spectacle as a long time coming.
“Every other country celebrates their victories. It’s about time America did, too,” he told the crowd, which sprawled sparsely across the National Mall.
“That’s what we’re doing tonight,” he said.
Vice President JD Vance, who introduced the president at the end of the parade, was the only official to acknowledge the dual birthdays.
“June 14th is, of course, the birthday of the army. It is, of course, the birthday of the president of the United States,” he said. “Happy birthday, Mr President.”
For critics, the overlapping dates sent a disconcerting message.
Away from the celebrations, among about 100 protesters at Logan Circle in Washington, DC, Terry Mahoney, a 55-year-old Marine veteran, described the parade as “dictator behaviour”.
“If you take everything else he’s done, stomping on the US Constitution, this parade may just be window dressing,” he told Al Jazeera.
Soldiers march during a military parade to commemorate the US Army’s 250th Birthday in Washington, DC [Brian Snyder/Reuters]
“But it’s the worst kind of window dressing,” said Mahoney, who was among the tens of thousands of protests who took to the streets nationally to oppose Trump’s leadership on Saturday. “So I wanted to make sure that my voice was represented today.”
But blocks away, near the entrance to the heavily fortified parade route, Taras Voronyy, who travelled from South Carolina, was less concerned about the blurred lines of the parade than the soldiers it was honouring.
“It’s a chance to celebrate the military, and also, Trump will be here,” he told Al Jazeera.
“I was actually a little confused if it was supposed to be for the Army’s 250th anniversary or for Trump’s birthday,” he said. “So I guess it’s a twofer.”
A birthday celebration
Trump had sought a massive military parade ever since attending a Bastille Day celebration in Paris in 2017, but faced pushback from defence officials during his first term.
This time around, he sent 28 Abrams tanks, a horde of armoured vehicles, cavalry, military planes and helicopters, both modern and antique, to the US capital, in a show of military hardware without comparison since 1991, when the US marked the end of the Gulf War.
Spectators gathered along Constitution Avenue – a thoroughfare that connects the White House to the US Capitol – for a pageant that stretched from the Army’s 1775 birth, through World War II, the Vietnam War, and the so-called “war on terror”.
Trump’s arrival prompted cheers, and a handful of jeers, from the crowd, which was dotted with red Make America Great Again (MAGA) hats. Attendance appeared to be less than the military’s prediction of about 200,000 people.
For Freddie Delacruz, a 63-year-old US Army veteran who travelled from North Carolina for the parade, Trump’s birthday and the Army celebration were distinct phenomena.
“It’s a coincidence,” he said. “I got married on June 6, which is the anniversary of D-day [the landing of allied forces on the beaches of Normandy, France].”
“So these things happen,” he said. “But we’re here to support the army. I spent 32 years in the army – I want to see the tanks, the planes, the helicopters flying around.”
A person holds up a ‘No Kings’ sign in protest against US President Donald Trump’s policies and federal immigration sweeps, during the US Army’s 250th birthday festival in Washington, DC, US, June 14, 2025 [Carlos Barria/Reuters]
Delacruz also did not see much significance in Trump’s deployment earlier this week of the US National Guard to California to respond to protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in Los Angeles and other cities.
Local officials and rights advocates have said the deployment, which was soon followed by Trump sending Marines to protect federal property and personnel, represented a major escalation and overreach of presidential power.
A judge on Thursday sided with a lawsuit filed by California Governor Gavin Newsom, ruling that Trump’s deployment without the governor’s approval was unlawful. However, an appeals court paused the ruling just hours later, allowing the deployment to temporarily continue.
Delacruz acknowledged that Trump has “got a lot of power… I mean, he’s got the Department of Defense, he’s got the Department of Department of State and now, all the Cabinet members are supporting him 100 percent”.
“But he’s still just the president, and he can’t control Congress,” he added. “This is what the people voted for.”
Freddie Delacruz attends the US Army parade in Washington, DC [Joseph Stepansky/Al Jazeera]
Aaron M, a 57-year-old Army veteran from Miami, Florida, also said he did not see an issue with how Trump has used federal forces in local law enforcement.
Trump’s decision was the first time since 1965 that a president had activated the National Guard without a governor’s consent. Both Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have indicated that the approach could be replicated across the country.
In recent days, Trump has also floated invoking the Insurrection Act of 1807, which would allow US troops to take part in domestic law enforcement, in what critics call a step towards martial law, but has not yet done so.
“If governors can’t get their states under control, then Trump should send [the National Guard] in,” said Aaron, who declined to give his last name.
“Look, I was born in Nicaragua. I came here when I was 12,” Aaron added.
“I know what a dictator is. This is not a dictator,” he said, motioning to the grandstand from where Trump watched the parade.
Armoured vehicles take part in a military parade to commemorate the US Army’s 250th birthday in Washington, DC [Brian Snyder/Reuters]
‘Protesting is patriotic’
For Anahi Rivas-Rodriguez, a 24-year-old from McAllen, Texas, the military pageantry underscored a more troubling turn, which she said included Trump’s hardline immigration policies melding with the country’s military might.
“I have a lot of people in my life who are scared. We do not belong in a fear in America,” said Rivas-Rodriguez, who joined a group of protesters marching in front of the White House.
“I do not stand by an America that tears families apart and targets people because they look brown and they look Mexican,” she said, her eyes welling up, “because they look like me”.
Trump earlier this week described the protesters as “people who hate the country”, adding that those who came out on Saturday would be “met with very big force”.
Rivas-Rodriguez bristled.
“Protesting is patriotic, and I am here for my country because I care about America,” she said. “Maybe I’m a little intimidated [by Trump], but I am not scared because I am still here.”
Anahi Rivas-Rodriguez attends a protest in Washington, DC [Joseph Stepansky/Al Jazeera]
About 60 arrests were made in a protest at the US Capitol late on Friday, but no major incidents were reported in the US capital on Saturday, with many groups choosing to hold protests elsewhere.
The organisers of the national “No Kings” protests held no official event in DC, despite hosting demonstrations in about 2,000 cities across the country.
In a statement, the group said they did so to avoid “allowing this birthday parade to be the center of gravity”.
Still, Roland Roebuck, a 77-year-old Vietnam War veteran from Puerto Rico, said he wanted to attend the parade in protest to send a message.
“Trump has been allergic to military service and deeply disrespectful of the military,” he said, pointing to Trump’s medical exemption from serving in Vietnam due to “bone spurs”, in what critics have said amounted to draft dodging.
Roebuck said the parade – with a price tag of between $25m and $45m – rings tone deaf at a time when Trump has been rolling back federal services, including those that affect veterans.
He also accused Trump of “erasing” the contributions of Black soldiers like himself through his administration’s anti-Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) campaign at the Pentagon.
“Many of the people that are here are very confused with respect to what this parade represents,” Roebuck said.
“This represents a farce.”
President Donald Trump speaks during a celebration of the Army’s 250th birthday at the National Mall in Washington, DC [Doug Mills/Reuters]
Who: Paris Saint-Germain vs Atletico Madrid What: FIFA Club World Cup 2025 Where:Rose Bowl Stadium, Pasadena, United States When: Sunday, June 15, 12:00pm PDT kickoff (19:00 GMT)
How to follow our coverage: We’ll have all the build-up from 6pm (16:00 GMT) on Al Jazeera Sport.
Freshly crowned kings of Europe, Paris Saint-Germain, are treating FIFA’s lucrative new-look FIFA Club World Club not as a nuisance at the end of an exhausting season but as a serious objective.
“I think it is an incredible competition,” PSG coach Luis Enrique said of the Club World Cup in the immediate aftermath of his team’s UEFA Champions League triumph in Munich.
“Our aim is to be competitive and try to win a fifth trophy of the season.”
The Qatar-backed French giants could be forgiven for wanting some time to bask in the glory of their 5-0 victory over Inter Milan in Munich, which allowed them to finally win the Champions League for the first time in their history.
Paris St Germain’s Achraf Hakimi arrives in Los Angeles ahead of the Club World Cup [Daniel Cole/Reuters]
There had been numerous agonising failures in Europe’s elite club competition, as well as billions of euros spent on transfer fees for stars like Neymar and Kylian Mbappe, prior to captain Marquinhos raising the trophy aloft.
“We have made history for the club, for the city and for the whole country,” defender Lucas Hernandez told the sports daily L’Equipe, after the PSG squad paraded their trophy down the Champs-Elysees avenue in Paris, attended a reception with President Emmanuel Macron and celebrated with almost 50,000 fans at their Parc des Princes stadium.
PSG players celebrate with the trophy after winning the Champions League final against Inter Milan [Michael Probst/AP]
Will PSG play their star names at the Club World Cup?
PSG have played 58 matches since last August, and also swept all the available domestic trophies in France this season, as has become the norm in recent years.
But there is simply no time to stop and reflect.
Many of their players, including Champions League final hero Desire Doue, spent last week on international duty before returning to their club and departing for Los Angeles, where they will begin their FIFA Club World Cup adventure this weekend.
“The tournament itself is a really attractive prospect,” Luis Enrique told FIFA.com.
“We have to strike the balance between managing the physical and mental fatigue we’re experiencing now at the end of a long season and harnessing the motivation that comes with being involved in the competition.”
Paris Saint-Germain CEO Victoriano Melero and Adrien Frier, the French consul-general in Los Angeles, pose for a picture in Beverly Hills [Rory Carroll/Reuters]
PSG’s opening game is against another European heavyweight as they take on Antoine Griezmann’s Atletico Madrid at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, just outside Los Angeles, on Sunday.
They will then also face South American champions Botafogo, of Brazil, before moving north to take on Seattle Sounders in their remaining Group B matches.
Expected to qualify for the knockout phase without too many issues, PSG could end up playing a total of seven matches if they make it all the way to the final in New York on July 13 – just a month before their scheduled first game of next season in the UEFA Supercup against Tottenham Hotspur.
Have PSG made any new signings since their Champions League win?
The strain of such a long campaign is telling, with Ousmane Dembele – their top scorer this season with 33 goals – struggling with an injury picked up playing for France last week.
They did not manage to add any new players to their squad during the brief transfer window that opened at the start of this month ahead of the tournament. Reported interest in Bournemouth’s Ukrainian defender, Illia Zabarnyi, did not turn into anything concrete.
But the rewards for success in the Club World Cup are enticing and should be enough to keep Luis Enrique’s squad focused on their objective, with up to a stunning $125 million in prize money on offer for the best-performing European team if they manage to go all the way.
Paris Saint-Germain players arrive in Los Angeles on a Qatar Airways aeroplane with the PSG and Champions League logos ahead of the Club World Cup [Daniel Cole/Reuters]
Paris Saint-Germain (France) full squad:
Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Donnarumma, Matvey Safonov, Arnau Tenas Defenders: Achraf Hakimi, Marquinhos, Lucas Peraldo, Presnel Kimpembe, Nuno Mendes, Lucas Hernandez, William Pacho, Noham Kamara Midfielders: Gabriel Moscardo, Fabian Ruiz, Joao Neves, Senny Mayulu, Warren Zaire-Emery, Vitinha Forwards: Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Goncalo Ramos, Ousmane Dembele, Desire Doue, Lee Kang-In, Bradley Barcola, Ibrahim Mbaye
Atletico Madrid (Spain) full squad:
Goalkeepers: Joan Musso, Jan Oblak, Antonio Gomis, Salvi Esquivel Defenders: Jose Maria Gimenez, Cesar Azpilicueta, Clement Lenglet, Nahuel Molina, Axel Witsel, Javi Galan, Reinildo, Robin Le Normand, Ilias Kostis Midfielders: Conor Gallagher, Rodrigo De Paul, Koke, Pablo Barrios, Thomas Lemar, Samu Lino, Marcos Llorente, Rodrigo Riquelme, Javi Serrano, Taufik Seidu, Rayane Belaid Forwards: Antoine Griezmann, Alexander Sorloth, Angel Correa, Carlos Martin, Julian Alvarez, Guiliano Simeone
Amnestly International called on the Nigerian government to do more to stop attacks in Benue State.
At least 100 people have been killed in a northcentral Nigerian town following an overnight attack by gunmen, as Amnesty International called for the government to end the “almost daily bloodshed in Benue state”.
The attack, which occurred from late Friday into Saturday morning, took place in Yelwata, a town in Benue State, according to Amnesty.
“Amnesty International has been documenting the alarming escalation of attacks across Benue state where gunmen have been on a killing spree with utter impunity. These attacks have been causing massive displacement and may affect food security as majority of the victims are farmers,” the rights group wrote on X.
“The Nigerian authorities’ failure to stem the violence is costing people’s lives and livelihoods, and without immediate action many more lives may be lost,” the organisation said, adding that many people were still missing from the attack.
The Nigerian authorities must immediately end the almost daily bloodshed in Benue state and bring the actual perpetrators to justice.
The horrifying killing of over 100 people by gunmen that invaded Yelewata; from late Friday into the early hours of Saturday 14 June 2025, shows…
— Amnesty International Nigeria (@AmnestyNigeria) June 14, 2025
Tersoo Kula, a spokesperson for the state governor’s office, told the AFP news agency earlier on Saturday that the attack lasted about two hours and a “number of houses [were] burnt down”.
He added that government officials and police officials had visited Yelwata and “confirmed” a lower death toll of 45.
Police spokesperson Udeme Edet confirmed the attack to AFP and said police had engaged the attackers in a gunfight.
But locals told AFP that they feared that more than 100 people had been killed in the attack.
“It is terribly bad, many people have died,” Amineh Liapha Hir, a resident of the town, said. “It could be more than 100, and many houses were also burnt,” Hir added.
Another resident, Christian Msuega, said he escaped the attack, but his sister and brother-in-law had died after being burned alive.
In the region, attacks are common as local herders, mostly Muslim ethnic Fulani, and farmers, many of whom are Christian, clash over the limited access to land and water.
Last month, gunmen who were believed to be herders killed at least 20 people in the Gwer West area of Benue.
(Bloomberg) — Israel and Iran’s conflict escalated on Saturday evening, with the Islamic Republic firing another wave of missiles and the Israeli air force striking Tehran. Read More
Interest in the issue was pushed by far-right groups and Elon Musk and branded by critics as a racist dog whistle.
The British government has announced it will hold a national inquiry into organised child sexual abuse after months of resisting the call from opposition groups.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Saturday that he had read “every single word” of an independent report into the sexual assault scandal, also known as the “grooming gangs” case, by Baroness Louise Casey and would accept her recommendation for the investigation.
“That is the right thing to do on the basis of what she [Casey] has put in her audit. I asked her to do that job to double check on this; she has done that job for me and having read her report … I shall now implement her recommendations.” Starmer told reporters travelling with him during a visit to Canada.
Earlier this year, the government dismissed calls for a public inquiry, stating that it was focusing on recommendations already made in a seven-year national inquiry by Professor Alexis Jay.
In 2022, Jay found that there had been institutional failings across the country, affecting tens of thousands of victims in England and Wales.
But the opposition Conservative Party leader, Kemi Badenoch, said Starmer only backs the report because “a report told him to”.
But increased interest into the “grooming gangs” case, as the British press termed it, was pushed by far-right groups, including Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, and further stoked by tech billionaire and Tesla owner Elon Musk, after the perpetrators of one of the most high-profile cases in the country were men of Pakistani heritage.
Their push was branded by critics as a racist dog whistle. The vast majority of “grooming gang” offences, however, are carried out by white men, the UK’s National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) said earlier this year.
Musk used his X platform to criticise the British prime minister over not backing a national inquiry after the local authority in Oldham, a town in northern England, found that girls under the age of 18 were sexually exploited by groups of men in the 2000s and 2010s.
Musk also alleged that Starmer did not bring the perpetrators to justice when he was the country’s chief prosecutor between 2008 and 2013, a charge that Starmer had denied repeatedly.
Due to the similarity of the Oldham case to others in several towns, including mainly white girls being abused by men largely from a Pakistani background, the issue has been linked to immigration.
Governor Walz calls shooting attacks in US on Minnesota lawmakers an act of ‘targeted political violence’.
A top Democratic state leader, and former House speaker, and her husband were shot and killed in Minnesota, and a second lawmaker and his wife were wounded, in what appear to be politically motivated assassination attempts in the United States, local officials say.
Melissa Hortman and her spouse were killed in an “act of targeted political violence,” Minnesota Governor Tim Walz said on Saturday during a news conference.
The shootings come at a time of great political polarisation in the US, at a time when political leaders nationwide have been attacked, harassed and intimidated.
US President Donald Trump said in a White House statement that the FBI would join in the investigation. “Our Attorney General, Pam Bondi, and the FBI, are investigating the situation, and they will be prosecuting anyone involved to the fullest extent of the law. Such horrific violence will not be tolerated in the United States of America. God Bless the great people of Minnesota, a truly great place!”
An investigation is ongoing while police are still hunting the person believed to be the assailant, Walz said. Officials said the suspect was dressed as a law enforcement officer.
“An unspeakable tragedy has unfolded in Minnesota – my good friend and colleague, Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark, were shot and killed early this morning in what appears to be a politically motivated assassination,” he told reporters. “Our state lost a great leader,” he said.
Walz said that in a second attack, Senator John Hoffman and his wife, of Champlin, were shot multiple times, underwent surgery and that he was “cautiously optimistic” that they would survive “this assassination attempt.”
Drew Evans, superintendent of the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, said that authorities were actively searching for a suspect.
Autopsies will be done to determine the extent of injuries, but Hortman and her spouse died from gunshot wounds, Evans said.
Hoffman, a Democrat, was first elected in 2012. He runs Hoffman Strategic Advisors, a consulting firm. He previously served as vice chair of the Anoka Hennepin School Board, which manages the largest school district in Minnesota. Hoffman is married and has one daughter.
Hortman is the top House Democratic leader in the state Legislature and a former House speaker. She was first elected in 2004. Hortman, a lawyer, is married and has two children.
Both Hoffman and Hortman represent districts located north of Minneapolis.
GIFFORDS, the national gun violence prevention organisation led by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, released the following statement.
“I am horrified and heartbroken by last night’s attack on two patriotic public servants,” Giffords said.
“My family and I know the horror of a targeted shooting all too well. An attack against lawmakers is an attack on American democracy itself. Leaders must speak out and condemn the fomenting violent extremism that threatens everything this country stands for.”
Giffords was shot in the head in 2011 by a gunman who killed six people and injured 12 others. She stepped down from Congress in January 2012 to focus on her recovery.
Here are the key events on day 1,206 during Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Here’s where things stand on Saturday, June 14:
Fighting
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said troops halted Russian forces from advancing in the northeastern Sumy region following Moscow’s deployment of approximately 53,000 troops in its direction.
Zelenskyy dismissed Russia’s claims that its forces had crossed the administrative border into the central Ukrainian region of Dnipropetrovsk.
Russia’s defence ministry said troops had taken control of the village of Zelenyi Kut in the eastern Donetsk region.
Russian air defences shot down 110 aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicles, its defence ministry added.
Governor of Kherson, Oleksandr Prokudin, said on Telegram that a 45-year-old resident was killed after a drone attack.
Diplomacy
Russia and Ukraine exchanged prisoners of war for the fourth time in one week under agreements signed in Turkiye earlier this month.
Russia’s defence ministry said soldiers were receiving medical treatment in Belarus before being transferred to Russia, but the ministry did not say how many prisoners of war were involved in the swap.
Ukraine said it received the bodies of 1,200 soldiers from Moscow. According to Russian state media, Moscow did not receive any of its dead soldiers from Kyiv.
The prisoner swaps are expected to continue until June 20-21.
Zelenskyy stressed that Europe’s support for his country was “stalling” without the United States.
The Ukrainian leader wrote on X that “US-Russia dialogue feels too warm” and warned that appeasing Russian President Vladimir Putin would not end the war.
Ukraine said it hoped that the ongoing military escalation between Iran and Israel would not affect its aid, as the attacks have led to a “sharp rise in oil prices”, which will hurt Kyiv and help Moscow, Zelenskyy said.
The two sides are no closer to any temporary ceasefire agreement as a concrete step towards ending the war, despite some initial momentum from United States President Donald Trump.
The unfolding Israel-Iran conflict will “immensely” dominate the upcoming gathering of the leaders of the Group of Seven, not just because of the dangers of further escalation, but also because of the “sheer uncertainty” of United States policy under President Donald Trump, experts say.
The informal G7 grouping of the world’s seven advanced economies is set to meet from June 15 to 17 in Kananaskis, Alberta.
Holding the current presidency of the G7, Canada is hosting this year. While the agenda items will change in importance, depending on how things evolve in the Middle East, the latest crisis is already set to shift focus from what was expected to be a platform for host Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to showcase his leadership at home and to a global audience.
The G7 countries include Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, as well as the European Union. In addition, the host country typically invites the heads of a handful of other countries, usually because they are deemed important to global and economic affairs. Canada has invited India, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine along with a few others.
Carney is likely to have been hoping to avoid a repeat of the last time US President Donald Trump attended – also in Canada – in 2018. That was when he refused to sign the final communique – which G7 countries usually issue in a show of unity at the end of the summit – and left early, calling then-Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau “very dishonest and weak”.
As a result of that spectacle, Carney was planning not to press for a joint communique at all this year – instead he was gearing up to write his own “chair’s summary” and seek agreement on a set of specific issues. Presenting an image of unity against a backdrop of looming, aggressive US trade tariffs, is the main aim.
But Robert Rogowsky, professor of trade and economic diplomacy at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, said there is no way G7 members can avoid the subject of the latest crisis in the Middle East, which was triggered by a massive Israeli assault on military and nuclear sites in Iran on early Friday morning – and has since prompted retaliatory strikes by Iran. The US said it was not involved in the Israeli strike on Iran, but Trump told reporters on Friday that it was informed of the attack in advance.
“That attack, counterattack, and the US declaration that it was not involved and its warning about staying away from American assets as targets is likely to be the first thing discussed, as it now creates the possibility of a real, all-out war in the Middle East. The major neighbouring parties will have to decide how to align themselves,” Rogowsky said.
A ‘crisis response’ group?
The G7 “was designed to be a crisis response group with the ability to act and adapt quickly to international challenges … so in some ways, it’s good they’re meeting this weekend as they’ll have the ability to respond quickly”, said Julia Kulik, director of strategic initiatives for the G7 Research Group, among others, at Trinity College at the University of Toronto.
Even before this latest flare-up, the G7 in its 51st year comes “at a hinge moment because of economic disruptions and but also because of geopolitical shifts,” said Vina Nadjibulla, vice president and head of research at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada. Nadjibulla was referring to the global tariffs unleashed earlier this year by Trump as well as a shifting foreign policy for the US under his leadership, with old alliances no longer cared for, as well as an “America First” message.
Against that backdrop, “Prime Minister Carney has been trying to meet the moment and be as purposeful as possible,” Nadjibulla added, pointing to the list of priorities Canada announced last week ahead of the summit.
That list focuses on strengthening global peace and security, including by countering foreign interference and transnational crime, as well as improving responses to wildfires; spurring economic growth by improving energy security, and bringing in public-private partnerships to spur investments.
The priorities announced, important domestically but also internationally, are a “testament” to Carney’s intentions, and “building the economy is front and centre”, said Nadjibulla.
Conversations on global peace would have focused on the Russia-Ukraine conflict and Israel’s war on Gaza but attention will now pivot to Iran, said Kulik, “and there will be tough questions from other leaders around the table to Donald Trump about what went wrong with the negotiations and about what he’s going to do to get Israel to de-escalate before things get worse”.
Trump is a ‘coin flip’
Experts were already on the lookout for flare-ups at the upcoming three-day event with the mercurial Trump in attendance.
“His reactions are very emotional and performative, so it could be any of those and that could decide the dynamics of the G7,” said Rogowsky. “If he comes in wanting to build some bridges, then it could be a success, but if he wants to make a point, and this is another world wrestling federation for him, then [it can go anywhere]. With Trump, it’s a coin flip.”
But despite the Iran-Israel face-off, the G7 will still be an opportunity for Carney to set the tone at a complex time of tariff wars and slowing domestic and global economies. He is also aware that Canada has to “up its political game” and find new ways of boosting its economy and security. That is particularly visible in the invitation to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as Canada has had diplomatic tensions with India over the 2023 killing of a Sikh leader on Canadian soil in the recent past.
This shows that Carney is aware that to make progress on his agenda items, he will “need to work with countries that you may have disagreements with, but you can’t let those issues dictate the big picture,” said Nadjibulla. “Carney is setting the stage for a consequential meeting.”
Rogowsky added: “Carney is a globalist and wants to allow Canada to become a force in unity, in a multilateral system. I see him as taking on a role as a bridge builder. Maybe he’s the one guy who can pull this off.”
At the same time, he said, “it will be interesting to see how the other leaders approach Trump. Will it be a case of kowtow to the ruler, or he’s the bully on the playground and we’re going to stand up to him.”
For Rogowsky, the “cayenne pepper” in the meeting is the expected presence of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who was berated by Trump and US Vice President JD Vance in the White House on live television for not being “grateful” enough for US assistance.
The three-day event follows initial meetings in May between finance ministers and central bank governors belonging to G7 countries in Banff.
