President Trump is set to meet with Middle East leaders next week as he travels to France for the annual G7 forum – where Iran will be a major topic.
The president is expected to head to Evian late Sunday for the Group of 7 gathering, which includes the leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Trump has been scheduled for separate meetings with the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani; the Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi; and UAE’s Emir Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
The White House reached out to Saudi Arabia about a bilateral meeting, but the schedule didn’t work out, a senior administration official said Saturday during a briefing call with reporters.
The update on the president’s schedule came as news emerged of a potential peace deal between Iran and the United States, which Pakistani officials claimed could be signed 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.
“As 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,” the official said.
