The G-7 welcomes the agreement between the US and Iran: "The priority is to reopen Hormuz"

Evian (France)Europe and the main world powers have received the peace agreement between the United States and Iran with caution but also with hope. The announcement came just hours before the start of the G-7 summit, which will be held until Wednesday in the French city of Évian-les-Bains, with Lake Geneva as its backdrop, and with the presence of the US President, Donald Trump. "The agreement is an opportunity to restore regional stability and stabilize the world economy," France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, and Japan have stated in a joint statement.

Both the G-7 leaders and Brussels have warned that the most urgent task now is the reopening of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz – one of the points of the agreement – so that oil prices can fall. Its closure has caused the price of crude oil to skyrocket and shake the global economy. "The priority is to reopen" the strait, said the President of France and host of the summit, Emmanuel Macron.

"We will do everything possible to make this agreement a reality and, consequently, for the Strait of Hormuz to be reopened peacefully and for transit to resume," Macron insisted. Given the fragility of the agreement, Brussels has urged the US and Iran to implement it immediately: "The priority now is for all parties to implement it quickly and fully," requested the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.

Hormuz, open

Donald Trump, who has arrived proud and tall in Évian-les-Bains after reaching the agreement, has assured that Ormuz will be "completely open" this Friday, the day on which the United States and Iran will formalize the peace agreement with their signature at an event in Geneva. Also according to his version, there will be no tolls. The American president has explained that the content of the agreement will be known "shortly after" Friday. "The most important thing is that Iran will not have the nuclear bomb," he assured.

The G-7 and the leaders of the European club have called for a reopening of Ormuz without tolls. Despite Trump's words, sources close to the Iranian regime have assured that at the last minute it has incorporated a clause that allows for the establishment of a tax for "maritime services". According to the American vice president, J.D. Vance, Washington hopes that "in the long term" there will be no tolls and has explained that it is one of the technical issues that will be negotiated in the coming days. It will be one of the topics of debate at the summit.

Mine clearance operation in the strait

To guarantee the safety of ships, France and the United Kingdom want to lead an international mission to carry out a mine-clearing operation in the strait. According to Macron, it is still a "fictional scenario", but he has assured that France is prepared to deploy the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaullehis lavish celebration at the White HouseThe peace agreement between the United States and Iran has crept into the G-7 summit, which kicked off this evening. Beforehand, Macron and Trump met to address not only the issue of Iran but also that of tariffs. Just before traveling to Évian-les-Bains, the US president has once again threatened to impose 100% tariffs on French sparkling wines if Paris does not abolish the tax on digital services, a 3% tax that France introduced in 2019 on technology companies – such as Facebook, Amazon, or Apple – present in French territory. "If they don't, I will have no other option than to impose a 100% tariff on all champagnes and all wines coming from France," Trump told the New York Post.

Tailor-made summit

Despite the contempt and mockery that Trump often shows for Macron, the President of the Republic has prepared a G-7 summit tailored to the occupant of the White House. The French head of state wants to avoid at all costs that Trump repeats the abrupt departure he staged at the G-7 summit in Canada last year and turns it into a failure.

Macron delayed the start of the summit by one day – initially scheduled for Sunday – so that the American could celebrate his lavish celebration at the White House, and has invited him to a dinner in Versailles on Wednesday night to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the United States' independence. This way, he ensures – even though Trump is highly unpredictable – that he will stay in France until Wednesday, the last day of the G-7 summit. The President of France is confident in rebuilding bridges with the American president and reactivating transatlantic ties, which have been severely damaged since his arrival in power.