Europeans to test Trump on Iran deal risks, urge Ukraine rethink at G7
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- European leaders at the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains (June 15-17) are warning Trump that a superficial interim Iran deal risks entrenching Tehran's nuclear and ballistic missile programmes, and are pressing him to rework U.S. Ukraine peace proposals they say have tilted toward Moscow.
- Trump arrived Monday buoyed by Washington's preliminary deal with Tehran, telling reporters "The Iran deal will bring a lot of success" and predicting the Strait of Hormuz would be "completely open" by Friday's targeted formal signing.
- A Tuesday lunch session will focus on reopening the Strait of Hormuz, including a possible Franco-British-led maritime mission and alternative energy routes; leaders from the UAE, Qatar, and Egypt will join those Iran talks.
- The interim Iran deal opens a 60-day window for technical negotiations on Iran's highly enriched uranium and sanctions lifting, but France, Britain and Germany fear an inexperienced U.S. team may fail to deliver a robust agreement or address Iran's ballistic missiles.
- France, Britain and Germany — who first engaged Iran on its nuclear programme in 2003 and helped craft the 2015 Obama-era deal Trump later pulled the U.S. out of — are seeking a formal role in the next-phase talks after months of being sidelined.
- Zelenskiy offered to meet Putin at the G7 summit but Putin "was not ready to speak"; European Commission President von der Leyen said Ukraine is "holding the front line and even partially regaining territory" while "Russia is feeling the strain and pressure of sanctions."
Why it matters: Europeans are betting the 60-day Iran negotiation window is where they can reassert influence on a deal framework they fear Trump alone will mishandle, while simultaneously trying to block a U.S.–Russia backchannel on Ukraine that excludes both Kyiv and the EU. The summit is a direct test of whether Trump will accommodate allies on two files he has run unilaterally.
