President Donald Trump warned all Iranians to evacuate Tehran immediately.
In a cryptic and foreboding post on Truth Social, the president bemoaned that a deal was not reached with Iran over its nuclear program. He then issued a warning of impending doom for Iran’s capital.
“Iran should have signed the ‘deal’ I told them to sign,” Trump said. “What a shame, and waste of human life. Simply stated, IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON. I said it over and over again! Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and other Trump administration officials reposted the warning on X. The White House posted the message with the warning to evacuate Tehran highlighted.
Roughly 9.8 million people live in Tehran proper, with 16.8 million living in the metropolitan area as of 2025.
Since hostilities began on Friday, columns of civilian vehicles clogging up the roads out of Tehran have been observed.
Israel has so far not opted for massive air strikes on the level of the war in Gaza, which has seen nearly all of Gaza City destroyed. Israel’s air force has targeted Tehran extensively in its opening strikes, but these have mainly been limited to targeted assassinations of military commanders and strikes on military infrastructure. So far, about 200 Iranians have been killed in total.
Trump’s ambiguous Truth Social post was largely met with confusion and fear.
He didn’t elaborate in a follow-up post about 50 minutes later, where he said, “Somebody please explain to kooky Tucker Carlson that,’ IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON!”
The president had been informed earlier in the day by a reporter that Carlson opposed his position regarding Iran, and that the U.S. wasn’t prepared for a war.
Trump followed up minutes later with another post warning against Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon.
“AMERICA FIRST means many GREAT things, including the fact that, IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!” he said.
The president departed the G7 summit a day early to head back to Washington.
Democrats in Congress have begun warning against a U.S. intervention in the Israel-Iran conflict. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) introduced a resolution Monday that requires congressional debate and a vote before the United States takes any offensive measures against Iran.
“It is not in our national security interest to get into a war with Iran unless that war is absolutely necessary to defend the United States,” Kaine said in a statement. “I am deeply concerned that the recent escalation of hostilities between Israel and Iran could quickly pull the United States into another endless conflict.”
“Netanyahu started this war by attacking Iran. He assassinated Ali Shamkhani, Iran’s lead nuclear negotiator, deliberately sabotaging US-Iran nuclear negotiations. The US must not be dragged into another illegal Netanyahu war — either militarily or financially,” Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) said.
Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL), noted for his inflammatory pro-Israel and anti-Palestinian statements, thanked the president in a post on X, adding, “Bombs away.”
Speaking to reporters about an hour before his cryptic Truth Social post, the president appeared more optimistic about Iran, saying it “basically is at the negotiating table” and wanted to make a deal.
When asked by a reporter if he wanted to see regime change, he replied, “I want to see no nuclear weapon in Iran, and we’re well on our way to making sure that happens.”
US MILITARY BOLSTERING MIDDLE EAST PRESENCE AMID ISRAEL-IRAN WAR
Trump has so far resisted pressure to join the war. Israel has been pushing for U.S. intervention in order to strike Fordow, an underground enrichment facility that can only be reached by advanced U.S. bunker-buster bombs carried by B-2 or B-52 bombers. Though he’s resisted pressure to intervene directly, the administration has moved military assets closer to Iran and Israel.
Israel began another round of strikes shortly after Trump’s warning.
