President Trump will sit down with several Middle Eastern leaders next week during his trip to France for the annual G7 summit, where Iran is expected to dominate much of the discussion.
He is slated to arrive in Evian late Sunday for the Group of Seven meeting, which brings together the heads of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
According to the current schedule, Trump will hold separate talks with Qatar’s Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani; Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi; and UAE leader Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
A senior administration official said Saturday on a briefing call with reporters that the White House also explored a one-on-one meeting with Saudi Arabia, but timing conflicts prevented it from being arranged.
The scheduling update came as reports surfaced about a possible peace agreement between Washington and Tehran, with Pakistani officials saying a deal could potentially be finalized within 24 hours.
“There’s a lot that the G7 countries have said that they can do once that deal goes forward. Iran is going to open up the Strait of Hormuz, that’s a requirement to be open with no toll. As they do that, we will lift our blockade,” a senior administration official said.
The official noted France and the UK said they could put together a coalition to demine the strait.
âAs the strait opens, we’re going to be very involved in demining, and to the extent that G7 countries can participate in that, that’s also going to be a helpful thing to get things back to normal as quickly as possible,â the official said.
