Donald Trump is set to cancel his meeting with Anthony Albanese scheduled for tomorrow morning (AEST) as he leaves the G7 early to focus on the Israel-Iran conflict. 

The cancellation of the first ever face-to-face meeting between the two leaders was a major blow for Albanese as he tries to shore up the AUKUS submarine deal – now under review by the US – and to negotiate an easing of tariffs on Australian goods. 

‘President Trump had a great day at the G7, even signing a major trade deal with the United Kingdom and Prime Minister Keir Starmer,’ White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Tuesday.

‘Much was accomplished, but because of what’s going on in the Middle East, President Trump will be leaving tonight (Tuesday AEST) after dinner with Heads of State.’ 

Albanese had been scheduled to meet Trump on the sidelines of the G7 in Canada on Wednesday morning AEST, but by that time the US President will have already left the summit. 

Shortly before Trump’s snub, Albanese had told reporters, ‘I look forward to the meeting, I look forward to it taking place’, when asked if he was worried he might not get a ‘full time slot’ with the US President.

The meeting had been billed as the most important of his three-decade career, with pressure on the prime minister to address a number of sticking points in the US-Australia relationship, including tariffs and the Trump administration’s reconsideration of the AUKUS security pact and nuclear submarine deal. 

Trump’s decision to head back to Washington early came after he called for the Iranian capital Tehran to be evacuated as the conflict between Iran and Israel continues to escalate. 

‘Iran should have signed the ‘deal’ I told them to sign. What a shame, and waste of human life,’ Trump said in a post on Truth Social. 

‘Simply stated, IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON. I said it over and over again! 

‘Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!’

Iranian state media says 224 people have been killed, most of them civilians, while the Israeli death toll is 24 civilians as the two countries exchange missile strikes. 

Multiple waves of Iranian missiles were detected heading towards Israel on Tuesday morning.  

On the sidelines of the G7, Albanese has still been able to meet with newly-elected South Korean President Lee Jae-myung and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. 

He also has meetings scheduled with NATO secretary general Mark Rutte, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, Mr Ishiba and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

But his meeting with Trump was supposed to be the centrepiece of his trip. 

It presented a crucial opportunity for the prime minister to negotiate an exemption from Trump’s tariffs: a 50 per cent levy on Aussie aluminium and steel products sent to the US, and a baseline 10 per cent levy on other goods.

Albanese had previously decried the tariffs as an ‘economic act of self-harm’ and signalled he was considering using US beef imports and Aussie minerals as potential bargaining chips. 

Since Trump’s re-election, the pair have spoken on the phone, but they have never met in person. 

Albanese also told media on Sunday that he was looking forward to ‘building on the very constructive phone conversations that we’ve had on the three occasions that we’ve had the opportunity to talk’. 

It’s unclear if he will have another chance to meet Trump face to face.