Trump heads to US Situation Room amid heightened Israel-Iran tensions | What is 'Sit Room' and what this means?

US President Donald Trump has requested that the National Security Council be prepared in the Situation Room, according to US media reports.

This comes after the White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that Trump will return to Washington from the G7 summit in Canada to attend to many “important matters.” Leavitt added that the early return of Trump was necessitated “because of what’s going on in the Middle East.”

Meanwhile, Tehran asked Gulf leaders to urge US President Trump to pressure Israel to halt its military actions, according to news agency Reuters. In return, Iran has signalled its readiness to show flexibility in long-stalled nuclear negotiations. Tehran's hint for signing the nuclear deal comes after Trump on Monday said that he believes Iran wants to make an agreement soon.

"As I've been saying, I think a deal will be signed, or something will happen, but a deal will be signed, and I think Iran is foolish not to sign," Trump told reporters on the sidelines of the G7 summit.

It may be recalled that Trump was seen in the situation room during his first term, along with then Vice President Mike Pence and other senior advisers when America's drone strike killed Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad in 2020. President Trump's ‘evacuate Tehran’ comment amid reports of his situation room meeting caused chaos as Israel continued bombing parts of the Iranian capital.

"Simply stated, IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON. I said it over and over again! Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!" Trump had said.

What is US situation room?

The Situation Room is an intelligence management complex on the ground floor of the West Wing of the White House. The CIA website states that the White House Situation Room (WHSR), is a conference room surrounded on three sides by two small offices, multiple workstations, computers, and communications equipment. The conference room is soundproofed and well-appointed but small and slightly cramped.

The WHSR was established by President Kennedy after the Bay of Pigs disaster in 1961. That crisis revealed a need for rapid and secure presidential communications and for White House coordination of the many external communications channels of national security information which led to the President. Since then, the mission of the 'Sit Room' has been to provide current intelligence and crisis support to the NSC staff, the National Security Adviser, and the President. The Sit Room staff is composed of approximately 30 personnel, organised around five Watch Teams that provide 7-day, 24- hour monitoring of international events.