AILSA CHANG, HOST:
President Trump arrived in France this afternoon for the G7 Leaders' Summit, where he's been touting his new agreement with Iran.
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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: I'm very happy to say very, very signed. The deal's all signed, and the strait is already partially opened. As you know they are...
CHANG: French President Emmanuel Macron met with Trump and congratulated him on signing a very important agreement.
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PRESIDENT EMMANUEL MACRON: And it's a very important one because first, it will fix the nuclear issue. And it's a very important matter for peace for the whole world. And it could reopen Hormuz.
CHANG: But we still don't know how the nuclear issue is being dealt with. And also, Iran is not the only topic on the table. Leaders also plan to talk about the war in Ukraine, economic development and artificial intelligence. NPR's Franco Ordoñez is in Evian, France, with President Trump. Hi, Franco.
FRANCO ORDOÑEZ, BYLINE: Hi, Ailsa.
CHANG: Hey. OK. So Trump has been talking a little more about this agreement with Iran. What do we know at this point about this deal?
ORDOÑEZ: Yeah. President Trump has not given too many details on the agreement so far, but he did promise to release the full memorandum of understanding soon, maybe sometime after the Friday signing ceremony.
CHANG: OK.
ORDOÑEZ: And that ceremony is expected to be held in Geneva, which is just about an hour's drive from here. But Trump said he's likely going to be gone by then and that Vice President Vance will be attending instead. You know, Trump largely used this first day at the summit to tout the agreement, which could end, you know, nearly four months of a very challenging war.
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TRUMP: I think a lot of great things are going to happen in the Middle East right now, and very importantly, the oil is plummeting down.
ORDOÑEZ: Trump said the nuclear part would be handled at a later date, but that Iran has agreed to not having a nuclear weapon, including accepting some policing, but again, Trump did not give specifics. And Trump said reopening the strait would trigger an economic boon, globally.
CHANG: OK. Well, how do you think, Franco, this agreement will shape talks at this summit going forward?
ORDOÑEZ: Well, I mean, it's already a big part of the talks. I mean, Macron brought it up right away. You know, Europe has clearly been dealing with surging energy prices as well and some angry citizens. Now, Macron and the British prime minister have actually been working together on building a coalition to help demine the Strait of Hormuz once the fighting was over.
CHANG: Yeah. But it was interesting that Trump claimed that they would not need much help. And I was wondering, do you think that that has to do with - I don't know - like, some of the lingering tensions between the leaders over this war?
ORDOÑEZ: Yeah. I mean, those tensions are very real, and it dates back to the start of the war. I mean, European leaders were caught off guard by the U.S. and Israeli-led attacks. Europe was not consulted. And they resisted getting involved, and that's largely because they did not want to get drawn into a bigger conflict. But after much pressure, some leaders said they would help maintain the strait once an agreement was reached. And actually, Ailsa, Trump also is going to be actually meeting individually with some other Gulf leaders, including Qatar and the UAE.
CHANG: OK. So what else will you be watching for at this summit?
ORDOÑEZ: Well, I mean, there are so many different issues on the table - trade, security, supply chain resilience. Trump's also going to be meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. You know, Trump has not focused as much on the war in Ukraine, but he did say that now that the Iran deal's finished, that he's going to turn his focus to Ukraine.
CHANG: That is NPR's Franco Ordoñez, who's in France with the president. Thank you, Franco.
ORDOÑEZ: Thank you, Ailsa. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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