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Secretary of State Marco Rubio touched down in Europe on Friday to engage in discussions with the foreign ministers of the Group of 7 nations. Tensions are high among the members, who are frustrated with the U.S. and Israel’s ongoing conflict with Iran. Despite their discontent, cooperation remains essential to mitigate the situation’s repercussions.
This meeting occurs at a pivotal juncture in the month-long conflict. While President Trump has highlighted advancements in talks aimed at de-escalating tensions with Iran, he has also ordered the deployment of thousands of troops to the region, hinting at the possibility of a ground invasion.
Rubio is set to join the G7 foreign ministers’ gathering in Cernay-la-Ville, France, which began in earnest on Thursday.
“I think they should be happy that I’m going,” Rubio remarked before his departure on Thursday afternoon, when questioned about the reception he might receive from the G7 partners.
“Well, again, I’m not there to make them happy,” he added.
Rubio added that other countries should “step up” to help secure the Strait of Hormuz that Iran has effectively shut down since the U.S. and Israel launched the war at the end of February, saying it’s their responsibility because they are more dependent on fuel that typically moves through the shipping route.
“It can be open tomorrow if Iran stops threatening global shipping, which is an outrage, and a violation of international law, for all these countries that care about international law,” he said.
“They should be doing something about it.”
European countries and NATO allies are caught in a bind with the U.S. and Israeli war. The allied leaders see fighting as incredibly destabilizing and dangerous, but they also have no love lost for an Iranian regime that has oppressed and killed its own people, funded terrorist attacks across the world and stonewalled inspections of its nuclear activities.
Europe is also confronting the consequences of a war it was not informed about ahead of time, with southern Europe in range of Iranian ballistic missiles, their military bases under attack, citizens stranded in the region amid the fighting, and the halt of trade in the Strait of Hormuz sending economies into chaos, with spiking energy prices and lack of access to needed fertilizer.
Last week, the G7 issued a joint statement condemning Iran for its “unjustifiable attacks” against Gulf and Arab countries and saying its member countries “stand ready to take necessary measures to support global supply of energy.”
The statement aimed to smooth over tensions with the U.S. after these countries initially rebuffed Trump’s calls for assistance in securing the Strait of Hormuz.
But Trump has lashed out at European countries as holding back support or failing to heed calls for assistance from the U.S. He’s taken exception with statements from Germany’s Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, who has said “it’s not our war.”
Trump on Thursday called it an “inappropriate comment,” and shot back “Well, Ukraine’s not our war, but we help.”
European populations are wary of getting brought into a conflict they were not involved in, but also worried about shouldering the burden of helping Ukraine fend off Russia, said Sudha David-Wilp, vice president of external reactions for GMF.
“They need the United States to continue cooperating on Ukraine, and so there is this sense that they don’t want to outright reject what the administration is asking because it is in Europe’s interest and its necessary to have a constructive relationship with the White House,” she said.
“But they don’t see the strategic objective nor the strategy to say we’re all in.”
Trump’s special envoy for peace missions, Steve Witkoff, said on Thursday that he has delivered through Pakistani intermediaries a 15-point “action list” to Iran, meant to form the framework of a peace deal, but would not reveal the specific terms.
“If we can convince Iran that this is the inflection point with no good alternatives for them other than more death and destruction — we have strong signs that this is a possibility,” Witkoff said during Trump’s cabinet meeting on Thursday.
“And if a deal happens, it will be great for the country of Iran, for the entire region and the world at large.”
Trump praised Iran for allowing 10 Pakistani-flagged oil tankers to transit the Strait of Hormuz in recent days as a sign of goodwill as part of negotiation efforts.
“Clearly, European allies have a strong preference for resolving this through diplomacy, finding an acceptable exit for the United States and for Iran and for Israel, that will not be easy to do,” said Ian Lesser, distinguished fellow with the German Marshall Fund and head of the organization’s Brussels office.
“A great deal of this is there’s absolutely no clarity about what has been put on the table and what is being negotiated in a serious fashion.”
European allies are concerned about being pushed by the U.S. into any “near term military commitments,” Lesser continued.
“I think they’re very comfortable talking about coordinated responses on the energy security front, stockpiles, attempts to calm markets, maritime security in a broader sense,” he said. “But American demands for European participation in near term in military dimensions of the war I think would be met with a lot of skepticism.”
In addition to the G7 members – Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom – representatives from the European Union, Saudi Arabia, India, Brazil, South Korea and Ukraine will also participate in the ministerial.
The summit talks will focus on “potential avenues for negotiation that could lead to a de-escalation” over the war with Iran and conflict in the Middle East, reopening the Strait of Hormuz and “the cessation of the Iranian regime’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs.”
On Ukraine, the aim is to continue supporting Kyiv with military and energy reconstruction support, and to maintain pressure on Russia, according to a briefing prepared by the French Foreign Ministry.
Other regional issues will be discussed, including the Indo-Pacific, the civil war in Sudan, instability in Haiti, peace efforts in the Gaza Strip, and Venezuela and Cuba.