Leaders of the Group of Seven gathered on Tuesday to discuss Russia's war in Ukraine and U.S. President Donald Trump's tentative deal to end the conflict with Iran.
The first full day of the G7 summit of leading industrialized nations is being held in the French town of Evian-les-Bains.
Shortly before his arrival, Trump announced an agreement to end the 3 1/2-month-old U.S. war against Iran.
“Now that this (Iran) is finished, we’re going to be focusing on that,” Trump said, referring to efforts to end Russia's war in Ukraine.
Egypt, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates will join a working session aimed at ensuring stability in the Middle East, where the leaders are expected to discuss the global economic crisis resulting from the war and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
The G7 includes France, the United States, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom. Guest nations at this summit include Brazil, Egypt, India, Kenya, South Korea, Qatar, Ukraine and the UAE.
Here is the latest:
Secret US-Iran memorandum to be signed in Swiss resort
Switzerland’s foreign ministry says a signing ceremony for a deal between the United States and Iran will take place Friday at the Bürgenstock resort near the city of Luzern.
The Federal Department of Foreign Affairs says the location was proposed by Pakistani and Qatari mediators, along with the U.S. and Iran. It said it has been in close contact with the four countries about the possible signing of the “memorandum of understanding.”
Details of the agreement announced by Trump have not been made public. The deal is centered around reopening the Strait of Hormuz and lifting the United States’ naval blockade in the region, along with financial incentives for Iran if it meets certain benchmarks.
The resort, which sits atop a mountain and features breathtaking views of Lake Lucerne, hosted an international conference on Ukraine two years ago.
Iran says the US war deal requires Israel to withdraw from Lebanon
Iran’s top diplomat said Tuesday that the tentative deal to end the war with the United States would require Israel to withdraw from Lebanon — a condition Israel has already rejected. The contradictory interpretations could sink the agreement and lead to the resumption of all-out war.
The deal between the U.S. and Iran has not been made public, and while Israel is not party to the agreement, it is part of the war: It joined the U.S. in launching strikes on Iran on Feb. 28, and has since fought the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon and seized large swaths of that country.
“Without the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the territories they occupied during this war, the war has not fully come to an end,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said.
A U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the deal’s outlines said it did not call for an Israeli withdrawal. And Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that Israel would remain in Lebanon “as long as necessary.”
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— By Jon Gambrell, Sam Metz and Samy Magdy
Trump’s Iran deal greeted with skepticism on Capitol Hill
Republicans on Capitol Hill are expressing skepticism and asking the White House for details about Trump’s announced deal to end the war in Iran. Responding to a reporter’s question at the G7 summit on Tuesday, Trump said he’s open to a congressional review of the agreement, which is set for a ceremonial signing Friday in Switzerland.
The deal is centered around reopening the Strait of Hormuz and lifting the United States’ naval blockade in the region, along with financial incentives for Iran if it meets certain benchmarks. But Senate Republicans and Democrats said Monday that many questions remain unresolved and they need thorough briefings before it is finalized.
“I just don’t know enough about it,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters in the Capitol.
“If it’s a secret deal then how can I take it seriously?” asked Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina.
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UK-EU summit date announced at last
Britain and the European Union have announced the date for a summit seen as a key step in rebuilding their relationship.
European Council President Antonio Costa says the meeting will be held in Brussels on July 22. Costa met British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the G7 summit on Tuesday.
There has been a question mark over the date due to uncertainty about Starmer’s future. He is facing calls to resign and a potential leadership challenge this summer.
Leaders have begun final working session of the day
The session is focused on international investment. In addition to the core G7 members, leaders from Brazil, Egypt, India, Kenya, South Korea, Qatar, Ukraine, and the UAE were invited to take part in the talks.
Trump says he’s hasn’t been briefed on alleged plot to attack UFC event
“I haven’t heard about it, no,” Trump said when asked by a reporter about the alleged plot to target the high profile event. “The attack that I watched were the fighters.”
FBI director Kash Patel announced earlier Tuesday that law enforcement officials had disrupted “planned attacks” meant to target the UFC cage-fighting show staged at the White House this past weekend, and that multiple people were in custody.
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Why Trump said yes to dinner at Versailles
The president said the opulent setting of his scheduled one-on-one dinner with Macron was a factor in his decision to extend his stay after the summit — the two are scheduled to dine at the Palace of Versailles.
“I’m a fan of beautiful places, and I was leaving in the afternoon, and then the French president who happens to be a very nice man, invited me to dinner at Versailles,” Trump said. “And Versailles is not gold leaf — Versailles is the real deal. And I said I’d like to do it.”
Trump said it will have little impact on his schedule, noting that he’s “not a big sleeper anyway” and will get home early in the morning: “I won’t lose any time in the Oval Office.”
Zelenskyy says Ukraine is serious about peace while Russia toys with world leaders
“The entire ‘Seven’ supports Ukraine unanimously today,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy told reporters at the doorstep of the G7 summit today.
He said that all G7 partners of Ukraine recognize Ukraine’s readiness to meet with the Russian side to establish a ceasefire, its active engagement on the battlefield, and its effective capabilities in mid- and long-range strikes.
The Russian side, meanwhile, is failing to show any serious activity toward peace, he said, calling Russia’s actions “a game.”
“It’s important that at the G7 meeting everyone realizes that. It’s important.”
Trump says US plans to resume sanctions on Russian oil shipments
Asked if he would reinstitute sanctions that were eased to help lower oil prices, Trump said the restrictions can resume as more oil moves through the Strait of Hormuz.
“Soon we’ll be able to do that because the oil is now flowing,” Trump told reporters. “We’re in a position to do that soon.”
The U.S. in March temporarily eased some sanctions on some Russian oil shipments as crude prices sharply increased. The waiver has been extended as the war stretched on.
Trump tells Carney he likes Canada’s cap on Chinese EV imports
A microphone recorded them talking about how less than three percent of Canada’s market, 49,000 cars, will be allowed to enter from China.
“It’s a cap, we capped, a hard line,” Carney said. “I thought you’d actually like that.”
“That’s good, I like it,” Trump responded.
Breaking with the United States, Canada agreed to cut its 100% tariff on Chinese electric cars earlier this year in return for lower tariffs on Canadian farm products. Carney said then that an initial annual cap of 49,000 vehicles on Chinese EV exports coming into Canada at a tariff rate of 6.1% would grow to about 70,000 over five years.
Trump says he’d send Iran deal to Congress for review
The president voiced his openness to making the move at the start of a meeting with United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on the sidelines of the G7 summit in the French Alps.
“I like the idea, send it to Congress please,” Trump said. He added, “I mean who wouldn’t approve it.”
Republicans on Capitol Hill say they want Trump to provide more information about the agreement between the United States and Iran, with some expressing skepticism that the deal can deter Iran from pursuing a nuclear weapon.
Trump speaks to EU leader about Greenland in another hot mic moment
Sitting down before a meeting about Ukraine, Trump was caught on a hot mic speaking about Greenland with European Council President António Costa.
“You understand?” Trump said before pausing and eyeing Costa. “Greenland.”
The start and end of the conversation is unclear.
European politicians across the continent were infuriated when Trump threatened in January to seize the large Arctic island, a territory of EU-member Denmark. The idea raised fears of splitting up of the NATO military alliance, and spurred Denmark to increase its military presence there.
Several European partners — including France, Germany, the U.K., Norway, Sweden and the Netherlands — sent small, symbolic numbers of troops to the island.
Trump sits with president of the United Arab Emirates
A bilateral meeting with Trump and Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan is underway. It’s Trump’s second of the day after meeting with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani.
The meeting comes as the U.S. and Iran are expected to formally sign a ceasefire settlement later this week and open negotiations about Tehran’s nuclear program.
Trump jokes about stealing Macron’s watch
In a lighter moment, a microphone caught Trump joking about stealing Macron ’s watch.
After one of the leaders asked where Macron went during the working lunch, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said, “He’s left his watch here. We’ve got his watch.”
“Give me it if he left, gimmie,” Trump responded, followed by laughter by the group.
Spouses of foreign leaders tour lakeside town near G7 summit
France’s Brigitte Macron led a tour of spouses of world leaders to the lakeside town of Yvoire during the G7 summit in France.
With security in tow, Macron led the group — Canada’s Diana Fox Carney, Britain’s Victoria Starmer, Germany’s Charlotte Merz, Kenya’s Rachel Kimetto, Brazil’s Janja Lula da Silva, and Heiko von der Leyen, husband of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen — on a walk through the town on the shores of Lake Geneva.
Children gave the spouses bouquets of flowers and locals gawked at the small group of dignitaries.
Macron offers personalized bicycles to Trump and G7 leaders
Macron is offering a bicycle to Trump and each of the other G7 leaders at the Evian summit.
“All seven heads of state will receive a personalized bicycle,” said the president of the Union Cycliste Internationale, David Lappartient.
The gifts are meant to promote the Cycling World Championships scheduled next year in the French Alps. Lappartient posted pictures on X of the white bicycles bearing the flag of each of the G7 nations beneath the handlebars.
Trump, who turned 80 on Sunday, is not known to bike and has joked about doing minimal exercise beyond his regular golf outings.
Starmer senses a ‘mood change’ on Ukraine
Starmer said G7 leaders share a sense that “things are changing” and Ukraine is regaining the initiative in its war with Russia.
Speaking to British broadcasters, the U.K. prime minister said “there was real unity in the room” when Trump and the other G7 leaders discussed the conflict.
He said they agreed “that Ukraine is doing better now, regaining territory, that the sanctions are having a real impact on Russia, and a real sense that now is the moment for all of us as a G7 to ramp up the pressure.”
Zelenskyy says G7 supports boosting Patriot missile production
Zelenskyy said he had a positive meeting with G7 leaders who supported Ukraine’s need for more Patriot missiles and discussed how to increase production by licensing production.
Speaking during a bilateral meeting with Carney after earlier meeting with the all the G7 leaders, including Trump, Zelenskyy said his allies agreed that Russia is not winning and that they have to push Putin to end the war.
Patriot missiles are able to counter Russian ballistic missile attacks on Ukraine’s power grid and cities.
European leaders joke with Meloni about quitting smoking
In a lighter moment, the cameras at the summit caught Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni telling G7 leaders that she has quit smoking.
After the leaders greeted Meloni, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz asked her if she had already had a cigarette. She responded she had not had a smoke “since the first of May.”
Mertz clapped his hands and the leaders of Canada, the U.K., Japan and the EU also enthusiastically congratulated her. A delighted Meloni put up her hands in celebration.
“Do you have a patch?” Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said as he grabbed his own arm.
Papier mache heads of state gather at the summit
Oxfam activists wearing papier mache heads depicting the G7 leaders made an appearance near the summit location for a satirical, but sedate, protest.
Oxfam has used the outsized eye-catching heads — depicting Trump, Meloni, Merz, Carney, Takaichi, Macron and Starmer — for several protests around the summit.
The demonstration outside the security bubble thrown around the summit, in a park overlooking the clear-blue waters of Lake Geneva, was intended to draw attention to a lack of clean water for the people of Gaza.
No G7 invite received for Putin-Zelenskyy talks, Kremlin says
Russian President Vladimir Putin did not receive an invitation from Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy to attend the G7 summit through official channels.
Asked whether such an invitation had been made, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “Of course there wasn’t. As you know, there aren’t even any official channels between Moscow and Kyiv.”
Peskov said Putin has repeatedly said Zelenskyy could go to Moscow. “If Zelenskyy is ready to talk responsibly and seriously...he can always come to Moscow, where he will be received,” Peskov said.
Zelenskyy and Trump meet on sidelines of G7 summit
Zelenskyy and Trump have held talks on the sidelines of the G7 summit in France.
Zelenskyy posted photos of the meeting on social media, writing that “it is always important to coordinate positions.”
Rustem Umerov, Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council chief, and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also took part, the photos showed. In one image, the two leaders sat close enough that their knees nearly touched.
The encounter between the two presidents “was in the context of the general meeting at the summit,” Zelenskyy’s communications adviser Dmytro Lytvyn told reporters, suggesting a separate meeting would take place later.
G7 leaders meeting with leaders of Egypt, Qatar and UAE
The leaders of the G7 are holding a meeting with the leaders of Egypt, Qatar and the UAE.
They are attending a working lunch dubbed “Addressing Crises and Ensuring Stability in the Middle East.”
The Middle East countries are not G7 members, but were invited to the summit at a tumultuous moment for the region and beyond because of the Iran war.
Ceasefire should ‘mean a definitive end to Iran’s nuclear program,’ EU says
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen met with Trump at the G7 summit and then took to social media to congratulate him on striking a ceasefire with Tehran.
“We both agree that it should mean a definitive end to Iran’s nuclear programme. The Strait will reopen. Oil prices are falling. And that’s how diplomacy delivers,” von der Leyen said in a post.
Economies across the European Union have been rattled by rising fuel and fertilizer prices.
Summit discusses increasing pressure on Russia over Ukraine, diplomat says
G7 leaders have agreed to increase pressure on Russia, including through sanctions targeting its oil and natural gas sectors, a French diplomat familiar with the summit talks said.
The diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said G7 leaders held “very fruitful” discussions on Ukraine during a session attended by Zelenskyy.
They also agreed on a common position to support Ukraine in its war against Russia by providing additional air defense capabilities and other means of protection, the diplomat said.
Trump says Syria could handle Hezbollah better than Israel
Trump said he proposed asking Syria to help against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
“I suggested to Israel to let Syria take care of Hezbollah,” Trump said. “Because to be honest with you, I think they’d do a better job.”
Syria has a long complicated relationship with Lebanon, with Syrian troops maintaining a military occupation in the country from 1976 to 2005.
UK is ready to help reopen Strait of Hormuz, Starmer says
The U.K. will “play our full part” in reopening the Strait of Hormuz, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said, though he declined to confirm when British warships could be in the area.
Speaking at the G7 summit, he said leaders of the group of wealthy nations were discussing next steps to reopen the strait.
Britain and France have assembled a group of countries that Starmer said are “prepared to play their part in terms of reassurance to get vessels through the strait.”
Trump dismisses claim of a $300B fund to rebuild Iran as a ‘rumor’
The U.S. is “not investing any money in Iran,” Trump said.
“That rumor got out there yesterday, it was ridiculous,” he told reporters. “We have no obligation to invest any money in Iran.”
The president made the comment a day after senior U.S. officials told reporters that a memorandum of understanding includes a $300 billion fund to help rebuild if Tehran meets certain benchmarks.
Trump denied the claim twice on Tuesday during a bilateral meeting with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani.
Trump ‘not happy’ with Israel’s handling of Hezbollah and Lebanon
Trump said he is “not happy with the way Israel has handled themselves with Lebanon and with Hezbollah.”
“They should have been able to deal with them faster,” Trump told reporters in reference to Israeli operations to target Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon.
“It just goes on forever. And when that happens, it throws a negative light on the big deal. And that’s the deal with Iran,” he said.
Trump says he will ‘do whatever I can’ on Ukraine war
The U.S. president said he wants to focus on Ukraine, adding that the issue of Iran will soon be “back in the rear view mirror.”
Trump, who said he will meet with Zelenskyy for further talks, downplayed the impact of Russia’s war in Ukraine on the U.S., but lamented the death toll.
“The whole thing is ridiculous,” Trump said. “So, yeah, I’m going to do whatever I can.”
Trump holds talks with Qatar’s emir
Trump and Sheikh Tamim have much to discuss with the U.S. and Iran expected to formally sign a ceasefire settlement later this week and open up negotiations about Tehran’s nuclear program.
“You’ll always be my friend,” Trump said at the start of the bilateral meeting.
The emir in turned thanked Trump for his leadership, adding that the ceasefire agreement between the U.S. and Iran “is a very important deal” but much work remains to be done.
The desert peninsula of Qatar was shaken by the three-month Iran war.
Iranian strikes caused billions of dollars in damage to Qatar’s critical energy infrastructure. Experts estimate it will take three to five years to repair liquefied natural gas pipelines that were damaged by strikes.
Macron and Zelenskyy met in hotel garden ahead of G7 talks
Macron and Zelenskyy took a little walk through the wooded garden at the Hotel Royal as they held bilateral talks before joining other G7 leaders.
French organizers of the G7 summit in the resort town of Evian-les-Bains placed Ukraine high on the agenda during efforts to end the war more than four years after Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Macron said he would urge Trump to maintain U.S. support for Ukraine and increase pressure on Russia to help secure a peace agreement.
“The right negotiation is one with Ukraine and Russia at the table, with Europeans and Americans also present,” Macron said Monday.
Merz offers custom ‘Trump 47’ soccer jersey to US president
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who has had a frosty relationship with Trump, gave the U.S. president a soccer jersey with Trump’s name and the number 47 on the back.
Merz approached with the jersey as Trump sat down at a conference table for a working session. Trump smiled and held it up for a photo.
The white jersey appeared to be the same one the German national team is wearing in the ongoing World Cup.
Merz and Trump exchanged barbs earlier this year after Merz said the U.S. was being “humiliated” by Iran and criticized the U.S. for going into the war without any strategy.
Trump later said Merz “should spend more time on ending the war with Russia/Ukraine” and “fixing his broken Country, especially Immigration and Energy.”
US-Iran ceasefire deal will get plenty of attention Tuesday
Trump is scheduled to host one-on-one talks with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, and United Arab Emirates President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan later in the morning.
The Gulf nations are not part of the G7, but Macron extended invitations to the leaders to take part in the summit at a fraught moment for the region.
G7 leaders also will convene a working lunch to discuss the situation in the Middle East, where the conversation is expected to focus on the path ahead after the ceasefire agreement between the U.S. and Iran.
UK slaps new sanctions on Russia
Britain has announced a new set of sanctions targeting the “shadow fleet” Russia uses to ship oil and gas and the finance networks used by Moscow to evade Western sanctions.
The sanctioned ships include several vessels recently purchased by Russia to ship liquefied natural gas from its sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 project.
Britain says it has now sanctioned more than 600 shadow fleet vessels.
U.K. troops seized a Russian shadow fleet vessel in the English Channel for the first time last weekend.
The sanctions were announced as Prime Minister Keir Starmer attends the G7 summit in France. He is due to meet Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday.
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