European leaders will warn U.S. President Donald Trump at Tuesday’s G7 summit that a superficial interim Iran deal risks entrenching Tehran's nuclear and ballistic missile programmes, while also pressing him to rethink his Ukraine strategy.
The 15–17 June gathering in Évian-les-Bains, on the shores of Lake Geneva, brings together the leaders of France, Britain, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States, alongside the European Union.
Trump arrived in France on Monday evening buoyed after Washington and Tehran agreed a preliminary deal to end the wider conflict, with a formal signing targeted for Friday.
"The Iran deal will bring a lot of success," Trump said shortly after he arrived in Évian-les-Bains.
French President Emmanuel Macron said the priority was to ensure there is a "solid, serious agreement that is finalised."
He said a Tuesday lunch session would focus on the safe reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, including a possible Franco-British-led maritime mission and identifying alternative energy routes bypassing the waterway. Trump said the strait would be "completely open" on Friday.
Leaders from the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Egypt will attend Tuesday's talks. They are not expected to get into detailed discussions on Iran's nuclear programme, but may outline their expectations, diplomats said.
The interim deal should open a 60-day window for complex technical negotiations that would include the fate of Iran's highly enriched uranium and sanctions lifting.
However, European allies fear an inexperienced U.S. negotiating team may fail to secure a robust nuclear agreement or address Iran’s ballistic missile programme in the next phase, risking a prolonged standoff.
France, Britain and Germany want a role shaping the coming talks after being sidelined in recent months.
The three countries first engaged Iran on its nuclear programme in 2003 and later worked with then-U.S. President Barack Obama to secure a 2015 deal in exchange for sanctions relief. Trump has been disparaging of that accord, which he pulled the U.S. out of during his first presidency.
"It's not like the Obama document, that was a terrible document," Trump said of his deal before going into a bilateral meeting with Macron.
European diplomats also see the summit as an opportunity to convince Trump that past U.S. proposals for a deal to end the fighting in Ukraine have been too favourable to Moscow.
European nations want to signal that they are willing to engage in talks with President Vladimir Putin while tightening sanctions on Russia and boosting military support for Ukraine, emphasising that it is Moscow, not Kyiv, that is blocking progress.
Trump said he thought Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy were "open to do something about the war." Zelenskyy will take part in the first session of the day dedicated to "building peace in Ukraine" and may talk separately with Trump.
With negotiations stalled, Zelenskyy is pushing for renewed momentum and a greater European role. He said on Monday he had offered to meet Putin at the G7 summit for talks to end the four-year war, but that Putin was not ready to speak.
"Ukraine is holding the front line and even partially regaining territory. Ukraine has developed the capability to strike strategic targets deep inside Russia. And Ukraine has become a world-leading producer of cutting-edge military equipment," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters in Evian.
Zelenskyy frets that the conflict in Iran has diverted U.S. attention. Meanwhile, dynamics on the battlefield have shifted, with Ukrainian drones striking deeper into Russian territory to cut battlefield supply lines and hobble energy infrastructure.
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U.S. President Donald Trump has criticised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for continuing to target Russia's energy infrastructure, while Russian strikes on Kyiv overnight killed at least one person and damaged a metro station.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has arrived in Norway for talks about the Russia-Ukraine war. He is expected to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump's Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, who arrived in Oslo earlier. Witkoff will also meet European officials.
French President Emmanuel Macron has condemned the violence, looting and vandalism that erupted during cost-of-living protests across France. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu held crisis talks on Monday, calling for partial curfews and raising the possibility of a state of emergency.
An oil tanker caught fire after striking a naval mine in the southern part of the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy said late Sunday.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said regional issues should be resolved through diplomacy and blamed the United States for insecurity and tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, speaking at a joint news conference with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Monday.
China has lodged a formal diplomatic protest with the UK after British border officials allegedly subjected Chinese travellers to lengthy questioning and seized personal electronic devices, including phones, laptops and smartwatches.
More than 150 people have been killed in a drone strike on a crowded market in the disputed Abyei region, South Sudanese officials said, marking one of the deadliest attacks linked to Sudan's civil war since it began in April 2023.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has arrived in Norway for talks about the Russia-Ukraine war. He is expected to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump's Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, who arrived in Oslo earlier. Witkoff will also meet European officials.
Beijing says it deployed naval forces to monitor a U.S. warship near Sabina Shoal, while Taiwan reports a separate confrontation with a Chinese coast guard vessel near the Pratas Islands.
Tensions are mounting across Asia, with North Korea warning of war, China clashing with the U.S. and the Philippines, and protests gathering pace in Indonesia and India. Military threats, diplomatic disputes and political unrest are fuelling uncertainty across the region.
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