United States President Donald Trump on Tuesday urged people living in Tehran to immediately evacuate the Iranian capital.

This came hours after the Israel Defense Forces on Monday issued a similar warning, asking people in District 3 of Tehran to leave the area immediately for their safety.

“In the coming hours, the Israeli Army will take action in this area to attack the Iranian regime’s military infrastructure, just as it has done in recent days around Tehran,” the Israeli forces had said.

Trump said on social media that “Iran should have signed the ‘deal’ I told them to sign”.

He was referring to a nuclear peace agreement that Washington and Tehran have been negotiating since April.

“What a shame, and waste of human life,” the US president said. “Simply stated, Iran can not have a nuclear weapon. I said it over and over again!”

Washington is an ally of Israel and acts as a guarantor of the country’s security.

The latest round of the conflict between Israel and Iran started on Friday when the Israeli military struck what it claimed were nuclear targets and also on other sites in Iran with an aim of stalling Tehran’s nuclear programme.

The attacks have led to concerns of an escalation and a wider conflict in the region.

In the past five days, the Israel Defense Forces have repeatedly hit sites in Tehran and several other cities. Iran’s main nuclear enrichment facility in Natanz was among the targets that were hit.

On Saturday, Iran retaliated with missile attacks at several places across Israel, including the cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa.

The two sides have continued to attack each other with air strikes and ballistic missiles.

More than 220 persons have died in Israeli strikes in Iran. In Israel, at least 24 persons have been killed in Iranian attacks so far.

Israel has claimed that Iran was “closer than ever” to obtaining a nuclear weapon, and said it had no choice but to “fulfil the obligation to act in defence of its citizens”.

Iran has for long maintained that its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes.

The US had signed a nuclear deal with Iran in 2015 to limit Tehran’s nuclear programme in return for the lifting of economic sanctions. Trump had scrapped the deal during his first term in 2018.

The talks being held since April were aimed at reaching a fresh deal.

India relocates citizens from Tehran

The Indian embassy in Tehran on Monday started coordinating with Iranian authorities to relocate Indian citizens to safer places outside the capital and other cities being targeted by the Israeli strikes, The Hindu reported.

More than 100 Indian students studying in Iran had reached neighbouring Armenia, the newspaper reported.

In Israel, the Indian embassy was assisting Indian citizens in leaving the country through the country’s borders with Jordan and Egypt as the airspace was shut, The Hindu reported. The embassy also registered Indian citizens and advised them not to undertake “unnecessary movements”.

The Chinese embassy in Israel urged Chinese citizens to leave the country as soon as possible, Reuters reported on Tuesday. It recommended leaving Israel via its borders toward Jordan.

“At present, the Israeli-Iranian conflict continues to escalate, with civilian facilities damaged and civilian casualties increasing, making the security situation even more severe,” the news agency quoted the embassy as having said.

Trump not to sign G7 statement calling for de-escalation

Trump will not sign a draft statement from the Group of Seven leaders calling for a de-escalation of the conflict between Israel and Iran, Reuters quoted an unidentified US official as having said on Monday.

The G7 comprised France, the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan and the US. The annual summit of G7 leaders is being held in Kananaskis, Canada.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Tuesday also said that Trump will leave the summit early because of the crisis in West Asia.