After hosting a UFC fight for his 80th birthday Sunday, President Donald Trump will head to France for a three-day meeting with leaders of the Group of Seven as the United States attempts to broker a peace deal with Iran.
A senior Trump administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Trump will meet with French President Emmanuel Macron and other G7 leaders on Monday. Among the topics will be efforts to include allies such as France and the United Kingdom in demining the Strait of Hormuz, assuming the U.S. reaches a short-term peace agreement with Iran.
Trump’s meeting with Macron and G7 leaders will be followed Tuesday by potentially high-stakes meetings with leaders of Middle East nations.
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While the U.S. has been joined militarily only by Israel in the war against Iran, other nations such as Qatar and the United Arab Emirates are seen as key partners in bringing a peaceful resolution. The Trump administration has insisted in recent days that it is close to signing a short-term peace deal with Iran.
The official said the White House is optimistic about a potential agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. One point of contention has been Iran’s insistence on collecting tolls on ships passing through the region. The Trump administration believes it can reach a deal with Iran that would preclude toll collection.
The U.S. has said it will lift its blockade of ships entering Iranian ports as soon as a deal is signed.
Despite other G7 countries not being directly involved in the conflict with Iran, “there is a lot” they can do to support U.S. efforts to end hostilities, the official said.
Brokering a deal to end hostilities is seen by the administration as an important milestone toward eliminating Iran’s stockpiles of enriched uranium.
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“There’s also a lot of capacity that some of the G7 countries have, and that they volunteered to put together,” the official said. “There’s a coalition that the U.K. and France have talked about. They have some gray-hull ships already in the water, some of them close by, and so as the straits open, we’re going to be very involved in demining. To the extent that the G7 countries can participate in that, that’s also going to be a helpful thing to get things back to normal as quickly as possible.”
While Iran remains a central topic, the White House said ending the war between Ukraine and Russia will also be a priority at the conference.
Additionally, the U.S. plans to continue pressing NATO members to increase their defense spending, which the Trump administration says is important for U.S. security. The White House said the U.S. should not be expected to take the lead in every region.
