G7 Leaders Meet in France after US and Iran Declare Agreement to End War

Barbed wire fences surround a French Army military zone on the shore of Lake Geneva, in Evian-les-Bains, France, 06 June 2026. EPA/JEAN-CHRISTOPHE BOTT
Barbed wire fences surround a French Army military zone on the shore of Lake Geneva, in Evian-les-Bains, France, 06 June 2026. EPA/JEAN-CHRISTOPHE BOTT
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G7 Leaders Meet in France after US and Iran Declare Agreement to End War

Barbed wire fences surround a French Army military zone on the shore of Lake Geneva, in Evian-les-Bains, France, 06 June 2026. EPA/JEAN-CHRISTOPHE BOTT
Barbed wire fences surround a French Army military zone on the shore of Lake Geneva, in Evian-les-Bains, France, 06 June 2026. EPA/JEAN-CHRISTOPHE BOTT

Leaders of the Group of Seven wealthy nations meet at a French lakeside resort on Monday shortly after the US and Iran said they had reached a preliminary deal to end their war.

Discussing next steps on Iran will be one of several issues the global leaders will wrestle with during the June 15-17 summit, which will also seek common ground on the war in Ukraine, tackling global economic imbalances and sourcing critical minerals outside of the dominant supplier China, Reuters said.

US President Donald Trump is due to arrive in Evian-les-Bains on Monday for the gathering at a time when global leaders are increasingly wary of the United States, although French officials were glad to have secured his presence after he ‌left last year's ‌G7 summit in Canada early.

Many G7 leaders have been directly impacted ‌by ⁠Trump's volatile moves on ⁠the global stage that have upended the Middle East, global trade and diplomacy. His actions have led to larger questions about the US commitment to the post-war global order it helped establish.

Trump is due to meet with Middle Eastern leaders and attend a working session with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy during the summit.

The Zelenskiy meeting on Tuesday comes at a time when Russian advances in Ukraine have slowed and Ukraine seeks more military funding from its allies.

Zelenskiy's hand has improved since Trump famously told him in the Oval Office last year: "You don't have the ⁠cards".

But he may find greater US support elusive as Trump prioritizes drawing a ‌line under then Iran conflict, which has dented his support ‌domestically.

IRAN DEAL

G7 leaders will be keen to learn the details of the US-Iran deal. A memorandum of understanding is ‌scheduled to be officially signed on Friday in Switzerland but precise terms were not immediately known.

Trump said the ‌Strait of Hormuz, a major shipping route for global oil and gas supplies that Iran has effectively shut down for months, would open on Friday, and that he had ordered the end of the US blockade of Iranian ports.

In a statement, the secretariat of Iran's Supreme National Security Council said war and military operations on all fronts, including Lebanon, would ‌end permanently starting on Monday night.

Iran's deputy foreign minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, said a more expansive agreement would be negotiated during a 60-day ceasefire period, including sanctions ⁠relief for Iran. Iran's nuclear ⁠program will be addressed in those later talks, sources had previously told Reuters.

The United Arab Emirates, directly harmed by the war, and key mediators Qatar and Egypt will also attend the G7.

MACRON'S MOMENT

Trump will be greeted on Monday by French President Emmanuel Macron, for whom this summit serves as a diplomatic capstone for his second and final term in office, which draws to a close next year.

Macron is increasingly seen as a lame duck domestically but he still has pull on the global stage, and was able to get Trump to agree to a glitzy dinner at the Palace of Versailles on Wednesday.

Macron has sought to use France's presidency of the G7 to push for action on global macroeconomic imbalances, a longstanding US concern, before Washington takes the chair of the G20 this year and the G7 next. France has framed the issue as a shared responsibility in that China overproduces, the United States overconsumes and Europe underinvests.

Brazil, India, Kenya and South Korea have been invited to the G7 to join the discussion, while Macron has urged China to boost its own consumption.



UN Rights Chief Wants Next Israeli Govt to 'Change Course Massively'

n Israeli bulldozer demolishes the house of Palestinian prisoner Ibrahim Abdul Karim Daoud at the West Bank village of Beita, 28 October 2026. (EPA)
n Israeli bulldozer demolishes the house of Palestinian prisoner Ibrahim Abdul Karim Daoud at the West Bank village of Beita, 28 October 2026. (EPA)
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UN Rights Chief Wants Next Israeli Govt to 'Change Course Massively'

n Israeli bulldozer demolishes the house of Palestinian prisoner Ibrahim Abdul Karim Daoud at the West Bank village of Beita, 28 October 2026. (EPA)
n Israeli bulldozer demolishes the house of Palestinian prisoner Ibrahim Abdul Karim Daoud at the West Bank village of Beita, 28 October 2026. (EPA)

UN rights chief Volker Turk said Wednesday he hopes a new Israeli government will "change course massively" and respect international law, as the country's political future hung in the balance after hard-fought elections.

"The message is: don't continue the current course of warfare where you think you are above international law, because I think that's what we have frankly seen in the current environment," he told reporters in New York.

"Israel has its obligations under international law, international humanitarian law, international human rights law, and they need to respect them, and I hope that the next government will do precisely that and change course massively," the Austrian diplomat added.

Earlier this week, Turk warned that Israel's military occupation in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron, launched after a deadly attack by Palestinian gunmen, raised serious concerns of "ethnic cleansing."

"Collective punishment is a grave violation of international law," he said in a statement Monday.

With more than 85 percent of ballots counted in Israel's election, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing bloc was slightly ahead but still short of a majority, making Israeli Arab parties possible kingmakers.

The Tuesday vote was the first election since the October 7, 2023 attack that led Israel to wage war in Gaza and across the region.


Israel Defense Minister Slams Eisenkot’s Call for Military to Resist PM Pressure

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz attend a graduation ceremony of new Israeli army officers at a base near Mitzpe Ramon, Israel, October 21, 2026. (Reuters)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz attend a graduation ceremony of new Israeli army officers at a base near Mitzpe Ramon, Israel, October 21, 2026. (Reuters)
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Israel Defense Minister Slams Eisenkot’s Call for Military to Resist PM Pressure

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz attend a graduation ceremony of new Israeli army officers at a base near Mitzpe Ramon, Israel, October 21, 2026. (Reuters)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz attend a graduation ceremony of new Israeli army officers at a base near Mitzpe Ramon, Israel, October 21, 2026. (Reuters)

Israel's defense minister on Wednesday denounced opposition candidate Gadi Eisenkot for urging the military to resist post-election pressure from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has threatened new strikes on Iran.

"His call to senior military officials not to obey the directives of the prime minister or me or of other relevant security authorities, on the grounds that 'they have his support', is an anti-democratic statement detached from reality," Israel Katz wrote on X.

Eisenkot, a former military chief, in a speech to supporters after Tuesday's election said that Netanyahu was a caretaker prime minister lacking a mandate and that the military should serve the state rather than the premier.

"Stand firm in the face of any attempt to challenge you. You have my unequivocal backing. Netanyahu, do not dare use Israel's security for your political needs," Eisenkot said.

Netanyahu has repeatedly threatened renewed war on Iran, after bombing campaigns backed by the United States last year and again this year.

Media reports, denied by Netanyahu, said that military chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir pushed back immediately before the election on the prime minister's new plans on Iran.

Katz said that Eisenkot's comments were the latest in "a campaign of lies" about tensions between Netanyahu and the military over Iran.


Caretaker Role Could Limit Netanyahu but Not Rule Out War with Iran

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses his supporters at the election night rally after the first exit polls were announced, in Jerusalem on early October 28, 2026, during Israel's legislative elections. (AFP)
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses his supporters at the election night rally after the first exit polls were announced, in Jerusalem on early October 28, 2026, during Israel's legislative elections. (AFP)
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Caretaker Role Could Limit Netanyahu but Not Rule Out War with Iran

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses his supporters at the election night rally after the first exit polls were announced, in Jerusalem on early October 28, 2026, during Israel's legislative elections. (AFP)
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses his supporters at the election night rally after the first exit polls were announced, in Jerusalem on early October 28, 2026, during Israel's legislative elections. (AFP)

Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to face more constraints as Israel's caretaker prime minister after Tuesday's election, but experts say his government could still retain significant powers including when it comes to waging war on Iran.

Neither Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition nor an opposition bloc led by former military chief Gadi Eisenkot is projected by Israeli media ‌to win ‌a majority in the country’s 120-seat legislature. Eisenkot has ‌acknowledged ⁠the prime minister ⁠was still in office as a caretaker but issued a warning that Netanyahu might use security for political ends.

Netanyahu's office has previously rejected accusations he is using the Iran conflict for political gain. His office did not immediately return a request for comment on Wednesday.

“If you look at the letter of the law, a caretaker government has the ⁠same authority, has the same powers as a regular ‌government,” said Guy Lurie, a research ‌fellow at the Israel Democracy Institute, adding however that a caretaker government “has a duty ‌of restraint” and more limited discretion to act in some areas.

A ‌caretaker government faces limitations when it comes to issues such as appointments, but has leeway to act in matters where there is a public interest, analysts say.

“In general, security issues are the clearest exception to this duty of ‌restraint,” said Or Asher, a researcher at the Tel Aviv-based Tachlith Institute, noting that Israel's supreme court has ⁠previously held ⁠that a caretaker government must avoid far-reaching decisions unless they are justified by a pressing necessity.

“The Supreme Court has historically avoided intervening in decisions to go to war, and parliamentary oversight is at its thinnest in the weeks after the new Knesset convenes and before its committees are formed,” Asher said, adding that “a caretaker prime minister can legally take Israel to war, including against Iran”.

After the final tally is in, Israel’s President Isaac Herzog is expected to consult party leaders and then tap the candidate he believes has the best chance of forming a government, with the nominee then getting up to 42 days to establish a government.