G7 leaders discuss Iran truce and call for Lebanon ceasefire
As Washington and Tehran prepared to unveil an interim ceasefire accord, G7 leaders urged a Lebanon truce and a shift away from Hormuz reliance.
- G7 leaders welcomed an interim US-Iran accord to end the war, offering to help implement it while demanding that negotiations address Iran's nuclear program and regional threats.
- The group called for an "immediate robust ceasefire" in Lebanon, which has been impacted by an Israeli invasion aimed at Hezbollah, and also called for the disarmament of the militant group.
- The US-Iran deal extends a previous ceasefire by 60 days to allow time for negotiations on a permanent truce to a conflict that has killed over 7,000 people.
- As a related measure, the G7 leaders pledged to accelerate the diversification of energy supply routes to reduce global vulnerability to disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz.
G7 leaders used a summit in Evian-les-Bains on Wednesday (17 June) to call for an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon, welcome an interim US-Iran accord aimed at ending the war in Iran, and pledge to reduce global exposure to the Strait of Hormuz by widening energy supply routes.
The leaders gathered in the French town on Lake Geneva as Washington and Tehran began releasing details of the ceasefire agreement before its expected formal presentation on Friday, across the nearby Swiss border.
The deal is expected to open talks on a permanent settlement to a conflict that has killed more than 7,000 people, most of them in Iran and Lebanon.
“We underline the need for the negotiation ... to address the threats posed by Iran in the region and beyond and ensure that they never obtain a nuclear weapon,” the G7 leaders said in their statement.
The meeting allowed US President Donald Trump to set out his Iran deal to the other major allies at the table: Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan.
Those governments largely share Washington’s concerns about Iran’s nuclear programme and other issues, but they did not support Trump’s decision to go to war and remain anxious that Tehran has gained leverage by enduring the US assault and asserting control over the strait.
The G7 said it was ready to help implement the accord.
A Britain- and France-led coalition is expected to help secure shipping after the Strait of Hormuz reopens, as anticipated on Friday.
The memorandum of understanding signed by Washington and Tehran this week has not yet been published.
It extends a ceasefire announced in April by another 60 days, giving the warring countries time to negotiate a lasting truce.
However, the US president appears to have secured little of what he set as his original war aims.
Iran’s theocratic government remains in power; its stockpile of highly enriched uranium has not been handed over; its ballistic missile capabilities have not been destroyed; and its support for anti-Israel militias, including Hezbollah in Lebanon, has not ended.
Trump has said the agreement states that Iran will not have a nuclear weapon, a position Tehran has officially held since the 1970s.
US officials say later talks will result in the removal or destruction of Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile.
Even so, ending the war on these terms could leave Trump open to criticism from Republican hawks before the November midterm elections.
Lebanon remains among the biggest unresolved issues.
Israel invaded in March to root out Hezbollah after the militant group fired across the border in solidarity with Tehran following US-Israeli strikes on Iran.
Israeli forces still hold a stretch of southern Lebanon, where more than a million people have fled their homes, while Hezbollah has not been defeated.
Iran says any ceasefire must also halt fighting in Lebanon, and that a permanent agreement must bring an Israeli withdrawal.
Israel, which was not included in the US-Iran peace talks, says it will not withdraw and reserves the right to use military force.
That dispute has widened a split between Israel and the US.
Trump publicly rebuked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and told the summit on Tuesday that he was “not happy” with Israel’s conduct.
“Without us, without the United States, there would be no Israel. Without me, there would be no Israel, because no other president was willing to do what I did,” Trump said.
In their statement, the G7 leaders called for an “immediate robust ceasefire” in Lebanon and the disarmament of Hezbollah.
A Hezbollah spokesperson told Reuters the group believed Iran would not accept a permanent truce unless Israel’s occupation ended.
After decades of US and international financial sanctions that pushed Iran’s economy to the brink, a peace deal could bring economic gains.
The memorandum includes a US$300 billion reconstruction fund, financed by neighbouring Gulf states, provided Iran complies with other terms.
Over the next 60 days, negotiators are due to return to difficult questions about Iran’s nuclear programme.
Iran’s regional militia support and missile arsenal, however, do not appear to be on the agenda, a situation that would amount to significant US concessions.
Oil prices fell again on Wednesday as markets priced in the expected reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
Brent crude futures dropped below US$80, their lowest level since the first strikes of the US-Iran conflict.
A senior US official said Washington would waive sanctions on Iranian oil under the deal, raising the prospect of millions of additional barrels of supply.
Industry officials, however, say Middle East oil and gas output will take months to recover fully.
The G7 leaders said they had committed to “accelerate the diversification of energy supply routes to reduce global vulnerability to the Strait of Hormuz and to increase our energy stocks.”
