Trump says US will not need much help at Hormuz, at G7

President Donald Trump told allies on Monday that the United States would not require “much help” to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, during a G7 summit in France that was dominated by questions about his agreement with Iran to end the Middle East conflict.

Trump arrived at the spa resort of Evian‑les‑Bains for the summit hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron, after celebrating his 80th birthday by watching MMA cage fighting at the White House the night before.

Allies, however, had a list of questions for Trump, eager for the Strait to reopen and for global energy prices to fall.

Macron faced a delicate task in hosting the often unpredictable U.S. leader. The New York Post reported that Trump threatened to impose a 100‑percent tariff on French wine and champagne unless Paris removed a digital services tax.

Trump said the Strait of Hormuz would be “completely open” from Friday once demining was finished, at the start of bilateral talks with Macron before the summit opened.

He also added, to Macron’s apparent surprise, that “I don’t think we are going to need much help” to keep the Strait open, after London and Paris proposed a joint naval mission.

Macron had earlier said France and the UK were “ready to act very quickly” on the Hormuz mission.

– ‘Do everything’ –

There has also been controversy over potential Iranian fees on vessels using the Strait of Hormuz, with Tehran insisting it would charge maritime service fees and that they should not be described as tolls.

Macron told TF1 television: “We defend international law and we will do everything in our power to ensure there is no toll.”

“There shouldn’t be any tolls or anything that would enrich those in power” in Iran, he added.

The details of the U.S.–Iran agreement have not been disclosed publicly.

Macron said the accord had been signed “electronically” with additional annexes yet to be “finalised” on Friday.

Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al‑Sisi, the emir of Qatar and the president of the United Arab Emirates will be present for a special session on Iran on Tuesday.

A parade of world leaders will take place over the next three days, with France keen to expand the reach of the G7 beyond its membership of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States, with the likes of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also present.

A vast security lockdown is in place, mobilising thousands of police and troops, an operation that extends to neighbouring Switzerland where protesters clashed with police on Sunday.

– ‘Not ready’ –

European leaders and Canada will also be keen to remind Trump of the importance of pushing Russia to accept a peace on Ukraine’s terms, more than four years after the invasion of its neighbour.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday urged a “decisive and substantive” response from the G7 leaders after the latest wave of Russian strikes that killed at least 11 people and sparked a fire at a landmark Kyiv cathedral.

He revealed he had proposed a meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin at the G7, but that Moscow was “not ready” for it.

But Trump, who spoke by phone to both Zelensky and Putin, said that “maybe we can do something” on Ukraine at the G7.

“They’re both open to it,” he said.

Unusually, Trump is to extend his stay in France by dining with Macron at the Palace of Versailles outside Paris on Wednesday after the G7 finishes.

Macron insisted that the meal will not be a “gala dinner” and acknowledged that Trump “needed to stay to the end” of this G7, unlike the previous edition in Canada where the American president walked out early.

AFP

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