G7 leaders meet in France after U.S. and Iran declare agreement to end war

EVIAN-LES-BAINS: Leaders of the Group of Seven wealthy nations meet at a ​French lakeside resort on Monday shortly after the US and Iran said they had reached a preliminary deal to end their war.

Discussing ‌next steps on Iran will be one of several issues the global leaders will wrestle with during the June 15-17 summit, which will also seek common ground on the war in Ukraine, tackling global economic imbalances and sourcing critical minerals outside of the dominant supplier China.

US President Donald Trump is due to arrive in Evian-les-Bains on Monday for the gathering ​at a time when global leaders are increasingly wary of the United States, although French officials were glad to have secured his ​presence after he left last year’s G7 summit in Canada early.

Many G7 leaders have been directly impacted by Trump’s ⁠volatile moves on the global stage that have upended the Middle East, global trade and diplomacy. His actions have led to larger questions about the ​US commitment to the post-war global order it helped establish.

Trump is due to meet with Middle Eastern leaders and attend a working session with Ukrainian President ​Volodymyr Zelenskiy during the summit.

The Zelenskiy meeting on Tuesday comes at a time when Russian advances in Ukraine have slowed and Ukraine seeks more military funding from its allies.

Zelenskiy’s hand has improved since Trump famously told him in the Oval Office last year: “You don’t have the cards”.

But he may find greater U.S. support elusive as Trump prioritises drawing ​a line under then Iran conflict, which has dented his support domestically.

Iran deal

G7 leaders will be keen to learn the details of the U.S.-Iran ​deal. A memorandum of understanding is scheduled to be officially signed on Friday in Switzerland but precise terms were not immediately known.

Trump said the Strait of Hormuz, a major ‌shipping route ⁠for global oil and gas supplies that Iran has effectively shut down for months, would open on Friday, and that he had ordered the end of the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports.

In a statement, the secretariat of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said war and military operations on all fronts, including Lebanon, would end permanently starting on Monday night.

Iran’s deputy foreign minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, said a more expansive agreement would be negotiated during a 60-day ceasefire ​period, including sanctions relief for Iran. Iran’s ​nuclear program will be addressed ⁠in those later talks, sources had previously told Reuters.

The United Arab Emirates, directly harmed by the war, and key mediators Qatar and Egypt will also attend the G7.

Macron’s moment

Trump will be greeted on Monday by French President Emmanuel Macron, ​for whom this summit serves as a diplomatic capstone for his second and final term in office, which ​draws to a close ⁠next year.

Macron is increasingly seen as a lame duck domestically but he still has pull on the global stage, and was able to get Trump to agree to a glitzy dinner at the Palace of Versailles on Wednesday.

Macron has sought to use France’s presidency of the G7 to push for action on global macroeconomic ⁠imbalances, a ​longstanding US concern, before Washington takes the chair of the G20 this year and the ​G7 next.

France has framed the issue as a shared responsibility in that China overproduces, the United States overconsumes and Europe underinvests.

Brazil, India, Kenya and South Korea have been invited to ​the G7 to join the discussion, while Macron has urged China to boost its own consumption.