G7 Evian Opens With Iran Deal at Centre Stage as European Allies Press Trump on Trade and NATO
The G7 summit opened in Évian les Bains, France, on Monday with the Iran peace deal immediately reshaping the agenda. French President Emmanuel Macron, chairing what will be his final G7 as head of state before elections later this year, said G7 leaders would use the summit to discuss the long-term reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, support for Lebanon, and the path toward a binding accord on Iran's nuclear and ballistic activities. Macron announced the agenda items in a video message, framing the Iran breakthrough as a historic opportunity that must be locked in through sustained multilateral engagement.
Trump arrived at the summit fresh from his birthday UFC fight at the White House, and immediately commanded the diplomatic spotlight. European allies arrived with substantial grievances: US tariffs on EU goods, Trump's ambiguous stance on NATO collective defense commitments, and the enormous economic toll the Strait of Hormuz closure imposed on European energy consumers over more than three months. According to reporting in the Financial Times, European leaders who were relatively accommodating toward Trump at the 2025 G7 in Canada have run out of patience, with one analyst noting that their tolerance has waned considerably since then. Britain and France specifically offered to assist with demining operations in the Strait once hostilities formally end.
The summit's formal agenda also includes Ukraine and Russia, trade and tariffs, AI governance, and critical mineral supply chain resilience. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is attending a dedicated working session on Tuesday titled "Building peace and security for Ukraine and Europe," though he will not be holding a one-on-one meeting with Trump, an omission that reflects Kyiv's diminished leverage in Washington. Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa is attending as an outreach partner, marking a symbolic first for Syria's post-Assad government on a world diplomatic stage of this importance. Whether the summit produces a unified communiqué or fractures into competing narratives will shape European perceptions of the alliance through the rest of 2026.
