G7 Paris talks add Middle East voices as Iran stalemate drags

The G7 Paris talks opened on Monday with Saudi Arabia and Egypt invited to help find ways to ease hostilities in the Middle East.

Foreign ministers of the Group of Seven are meeting for two days. They want to gauge whether Trump’s midterm defeat changes Washington’s approach to Iran, Ukraine and its allies.

What is on the agenda at the G7 Paris talks

Organisers switched the venue from Marseille to Paris with little warning, citing security after weeks of nationwide protests in France. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot is hosting.

French diplomats said they have set no agenda, so that talks can stay as free as possible. Four G7 diplomats said Democratic gains might limit the White House’s freedom of action.

Even so, they cautioned that old-style American multilateralism is not coming back while Trump steers foreign policy.

Barrot is hosting a dinner on Monday for counterparts from Britain, Germany, Canada, Japan and Italy. Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan and Egypt’s Badr Abdelatty will attend, and Brazil and South Korea are also invited.

Rubio’s warning on Iran

For Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, it is the first meeting with allies since the election. En route to Paris, he lowered expectations of an agreement with Iran.

“I wouldn’t say we’re on the verge of a breakthrough,” Rubio said. He called Iranian demands unacceptable, and in some cases “outrageous, ridiculous” and not realistic.

Iran has stepped up attacks on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, and fears are growing over the deadlock. Allies have doubted the war from the start. They worry that more American strikes could deepen the crisis instead of ending it.

Why Saudi Arabia and Egypt matter in Paris

Britain and France have given Saudi Arabia military backing against Houthi strikes on its airports, ports and oil sites. Its Makkah pact partners, Turkey and Pakistan, have also lent support.

Egypt is a key G7 partner on food security, which Iran’s blockade of Hormuz has disrupted. G7 ministers will meet their Middle East counterparts again on Tuesday.

The talks will centre on how Iran obstructs shipping in Hormuz and the Bab al-Mandeb strait. A French-British plan to protect shipping can start once conditions permit. Over a dozen ships stand ready, and some come from the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany.

Crises in Palestine, Lebanon and Syria are on the Tuesday list as well.

Lebanon and Ukraine at the G7 Paris talks

Washington has been the loudest critic of a French-Italian proposal to replace the long-running UN mission in south Lebanon, which is due to leave by year-end. European ministers want to warn of a dangerous security vacuum.

Paris believes Hezbollah, weakened by Israeli bombing, is rearming. US-brokered talks between Lebanon and Israel have not produced a solution.

Ukraine will also feature, with Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha attending ahead of Tuesday’s talks in Abu Dhabi among Ukraine, Russia and the US. Diplomats described the front as largely stable but warned that Russia now targets energy infrastructure to cause a winter blackout.

Shortages of Patriot interceptors are Kyiv’s most urgent weakness, they said. On November 5, Italy’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, cautioned that Europe could lose relevance if its members pursue their own diplomatic paths.

For now, the G7 Paris talks give European and Middle Eastern diplomats a chance to test how far Washington will adjust after the midterms. Also, the G7 Paris talks continue on Tuesday with a wider Middle East session.