G7 Closes With Iran and Ukraine Dominating the Room

The world's most powerful democracies just wrapped up their annual G7 summit in Évian-les-Bains, France — a picturesque lakeside town that somehow had to contain some pretty combustible global tensions. Two wars dominated the room: the ongoing U.S.-Iran conflict (now 15 weeks old) and Russia's grinding war in Ukraine, now past the four-and-a-half-year mark. If you've noticed gas prices creeping up or felt uneasy watching the news, this summit was directly about the forces driving that.

First, the big one: Iran. This was the first time the G7 leaders met in person since the start of the U.S.-Iran war, which has now reached its 15th week and continues to impact the global economy, with increases in fossil fuel and oil and gas prices. That matters to your wallet directly — energy prices don't stay overseas. Trump announced over the weekend that a U.S.-brokered peace deal with Iran was "complete" and that the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most important energy transit routes, had reopened to international shipping. The Strait of Hormuz, for context, is the narrow waterway through which roughly 20% of the world's oil flows — so its reopening is a genuinely big deal for global markets. Vice President JD Vance later confirmed a preliminary agreement had been signed and said the text would be released this week.

The agreement, which was digitally signed on Monday, is expected to open a 60-day window to allow for complex negotiations to take place, which would include Iran's highly enriched uranium and the lifting of sanctions. In plain English: the shooting may have stopped, but the hard part — figuring out what Iran does with its nuclear program — is still ahead.

Meanwhile, Ukraine was fighting for airtime. While European leaders sought to refocus attention on Russia's war in Ukraine, Trump remained largely focused on the aftermath of the three-and-a-half-month conflict with Iran. But according to the Associated Press, Trump told fellow leaders he expected Iran would soon be "back in the rearview mirror" and that he wanted to turn more attention to Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy joined G7 leaders for a morning working session, though talks wrapped quickly — leaders gathered for just 75 minutes. According to a French diplomat familiar with the talks, G7 leaders, including Trump, agreed to increase pressure on Russia, notably through sanctions targeting its oil and natural gas sectors. That's a concrete outcome worth watching — tighter sanctions on Russian energy could ripple through global markets.

Trump said the most important element of the Iran deal is that "Iran will never have a nuclear weapon," adding that if Tehran moves toward developing one, "all hell" will rain "down on them."

Host Emmanuel Macron played a careful hand throughout. Trump held bilateral talks with Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and was scheduled to meet with UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan — neither nation is a member of the G7, but Macron invited both leaders to participate amid continuing regional tensions. Macron at the start of Monday's meeting congratulated Trump for finding a way to an agreement, saying "It's a very important step for peace of the whole world."

The bottom line: the summit produced real, if fragile, movement on Iran and modest commitments on Ukraine. Neither crisis is resolved, but the world's richest democracies at least showed up in the same room — and mostly stayed there.