Trump Arrives at G7 as Iran Deal Reshapes Agenda and He Pressures Macron

U.S. President Donald Trump is due to land Monday afternoon in France and travel to Evian-les-Bains, where the G7 summit opens under the chairmanship of French President Emmanuel Macron. The meeting brings together the G7 countries, Germany, Italy, Britain, Japan and Canada, and also invited leaders from Qatar, Syria, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt to discuss, among other things, the overnight U.S.-Iran framework on ending the war and reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is deeply concerned about the agreement reached without him, was not invited.

Before the summit opened, Trump’s vice president, JD Vance, told CNBC that he believed there were “elements” within Israel that like the deal and said Israel would still have a seat at the table in what he called a “new Middle East.” He argued that some Israeli media were rushing with inaccurate reports based on Iranian sources and said the final text, expected later this week, would show the agreement makes the region safer. Vance called the accord “transformative” and said Gulf states support it because they see a chance to build a “new Middle East” for generations.

The three-day summit is taking place in the spa town of Evian-les-Bains, on Lake Geneva near the Swiss border, a resort of about 10,000 residents known for its springs and as the site of the 1962 Evian Accords that ended the Algerian war. Leaders will stay at the five-star Hotel Royal. On Tuesday, a separate meeting is expected with leaders from Egypt, Qatar and the UAE, and the summit also includes Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, and leaders from Brazil, India, Kenya and South Korea.

The main focus is likely to be the U.S.-Iran framework, not yet a final deal, which is meant to trigger 60 days of talks on Iran’s nuclear program while immediately reopening Hormuz and lifting the American blockade on Iranian ports. Reopening the strait would ease global markets because roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil consumption passes through it, but mine clearance would still be needed. France and Britain have said they would help with that after the war ends, and a senior French official told Reuters the agreement improves the chances of practical summit outcomes.

Macron said the summit would examine the deal’s consequences, support Lebanon, seek a long-term opening of Hormuz, and pursue an agreement on Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs. He also said France, Britain, Italy, the Netherlands and others are ready to send a naval mission that could deploy within two or three days after the agreement is signed, and he will discuss alternative routes for Gulf oil and gas exports. For Macron, whose second and final term ends next year, the summit may be his last chance to dominate the international stage, even as he remains politically weakened at home.

Trump, meanwhile, is using the deal as proof of victory but is also pressing France. In interviews with the New York Times and the New York Post, he dismissed a joint statement by European leaders welcoming the accord and warned that if France does not scrap its 3% digital services tax on U.S. tech companies, he could impose a 100% tariff on French wines and champagnes. He said, “I won’t have any choice,” adding that if Macron drops the tax, “I won’t have to put that pressure on.”