Trump heads to G7 with Iran deal draft

Trump G7 – Donald Trump travels to France for his sixth G7 meeting carrying a draft “memorandum of understanding” with Iran’s governing regime—aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz and extending a ceasefire by 60 days—while Republican senators raise concerns and Israel

Donald Trump spent part of last week celebrating his birthday on the White House lawn with the UFC spectacle, staying up into the wee hours, before hopping on a plane to France for his sixth meeting of the Group of Seven.

For this summit. he arrived with a document at the center of the trip’s promise: a “memorandum of understanding” between the United States and Iran’s governing regime. The draft. shared with White House reporters on Wednesday. is described as opening the Strait of Hormuz and extending the current ceasefire for another 60 days while the parties work through a hypothetical long-term agreement to end hostilities.

But even the basic outlines of the memorandum are drawing pushback, and the gaps are where the uncertainty sits. In the draft read aloud on Wednesday. the agreement would also bring an end to Israel’s war in Lebanon. create a reconstruction fund of $300 billion for Iran. lift all sanctions on Iranian oil. and push discussion of Iran’s nuclear program into future negotiations.

Some Republican senators have already expressed misgivings. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he won’t be bound by the agreement. That combination—an American-backed framework with sweeping economic and security provisions, paired with immediate doubt from key U.S. lawmakers and Israel—has left it difficult to pin down what the memorandum really changes on the ground.

The trip also comes as Trump’s public energy appears lower than usual. He is 80 years old, and the reporting says he looked worn out. On Tuesday. he appeared to have forgotten his usual bronze makeup. a detail that stood out at the start of the summit run-up. The account says his energy is especially low for a gathering like this. where meetings with Europeans typically turn combative and hostile.

Those dynamics have defined prior G7 moments and shaped expectations for what allies will see now. Back in 2017. Trump announced his presence on the world stage by lecturing European leaders about their failure to “pay their dues” to NATO and accusing them of unfair trade practices. In other first-term trips. he was portrayed as generous to Russian and Chinese presidents. signaling who he respected and who he didn’t.

His earlier G7 positions also left a mark. In 2018. at the G7 meeting in Quebec. Trump demanded that Russia be allowed to rejoin the group—after Vladimir Putin had been “86’d” following the invasion of Crimea in 2014. When he was rebuffed. he stormed off to spend time with North Korea’s Kim Jong-un. with whom he announced he had fallen in love.

In 2019, the account says the year was uneventful by comparison, with Europeans showering him with flattery. It was then that Trump announced a committee had looked at venues for the next year’s meeting in the United States and that the best option had been his Doral golf resort in Florida. The self-dealing was described as so blatant that he was forced to walk it back and schedule the meeting at Camp David instead. The pandemic then canceled the entire G7 event in 2020.

Last year’s return to the world stage is described in far harsher terms. Trump entered Canada after his “landslide” victory. the account citing 49.8% of the vote. and insulted others while hurling threats of tariffs. with the reporting saying he showed little regard for America’s “so-called allies.” He then left early again. supposedly to devote his dealmaking skills to ending fighting between Israel and Iran. The account says that did not happen.

This year. the relationship with allies is described as so strained that “they are scarcely allies at all. ” with the reporting pointing to a list of turning points: “Independence Day” tariffs. the abandonment of Ukraine. the dismissive treatment of Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office. an “outrageous” U.N. speech, and threats to seize Greenland by force. Within that buildup. the reporting says Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth traveled to Normandy for D-Day. insulted Europe “on D-Day. ” and then announced the U.S. would pull thousands more troops off the continent.

Inside the summit, one issue is expected to dominate: the economic upheaval tied to the war in Iran. That impact, the account says, will continue far into the future whether or not the war itself is over. All the G7 leaders are said to be relieved that something has been agreed upon that may allow ships to pass again safely through the Strait of Hormuz.

The other issue on the table is the war in Ukraine. Trump. the account says. promised to make a peace deal on his first day in office but has since largely abandoned it. only reluctantly agreeing to sell the Ukrainians more weapons. It also says the EU and Britain have stepped up. while Ukraine has pushed Russia with “unsustainable casualties.” Trump is quoted on his position: “We have nothing to do with it; we sell weapons to them. It has no impact on us. … We’re thousands of miles away.” The account juxtaposes that quote with the claim that he has spent the last three months waging a war in the Middle East.

Trump has agreed to restore sanctions on Russian oil and has proclaimed that he “hates to see all the dying” and will do whatever he can to get Russia to the negotiating table. even as the account portrays his interest as low and suggests he has come to accept he likely won’t receive his “coveted Nobel Peace Prize.”.

Still. the reporting identifies one bright spot for the weary president: French President Emmanuel Macron invited him to a formal dinner at Versailles. an invitation that. the account says. was so perfect that Trump extended his stay. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is portrayed as disappointing him with only a World Cup soccer jersey with Trump’s name and the number 47 on the back.

Macron’s invitation was delivered at a place Trump is said to admire most—besides Mar-a-Lago and Trump Tower—at the Palace of Versailles. Trump said. “I was leaving in the afternoon and then the French president. who happens to be a very nice man. invited me to dinner at Versailles. Versailles is not a gold leaf. Versailles is the real deal.” The reporting says the dinner was held at Versailles and that after it he will fly back to the United States filled with inspiration.

The account adds that Trump will begin revising plans for a new White House ballroom by adding what it calls “a hall of mirrors,” framing it as a tribute to a narcissistic would-be king.

The sequence of the trip is shaped by a single moving target: a draft agreement meant to stabilize one front and end hostilities. yet immediate skepticism from U.S. lawmakers and Netanyahu’s refusal to be bound. Strait of Hormuz safety is the prize on paper; unanswered questions about sanctions relief. the nuclear track. and Israel’s Lebanon war are what allies and skeptics are left trying to reconcile.

United States politics G7 Donald Trump Iran ceasefire Strait of Hormuz sanctions on Iranian oil nuclear negotiations Israel Lebanon war Benjamin Netanyahu Republican senators Ukraine war Volodymyr Zelenskyy Pete Hegseth Normandy D-Day Versailles dinner