G7 leaders want to contain the Israel-Iran conflict, as Trump calls for talks between the countries

The summit's host at the Rocky Mountain retreat, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, said the world was looking to the G7 for leadership at a "hinge" moment in time.

"We're gathering at one of those turning points in history," Carney said. "The world's more divided and dangerous."

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz held an hourlong informal meeting soon after arriving at the summit late Sunday to discuss the widening conflict in the Mideast, Starmer's office said.

And Merz told reporters that Germany is planning to draw up a final communique proposal on the Israel-Iran conflict that will stress that "Iran must under no circumstances be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons-capable material."

Trump, for his part, said Iran "is not winning this war. And they should talk and they should talk immediately before it's too late." Asked what it would take for the U.S. to get involved in the conflict militarily, Trump said, "I don't want to talk about that."

It's unclear how much Trump values the perspective of other members of the G7, a group he immediately criticized while meeting with Carney. The U.S. president said it was a mistake to remove Russia from the summit's membership in 2014 and that doing so had destabilized the world. He also suggested he was open to adding China to the G7.

Trump also seemed to put a greater priority on addressing his grievances with other nations' trade policies.

"Our primary focus will be trade," Trump said of his talks with Carney.

High tension

This year's G7 summit is full of combustible tensions. Trump already has hit several dozen nations with severe tariffs that risk a global economic slowdown. There is little progress on settling the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, and now the new conflict between Israel and Iran.

Add to all of that the problems of climate change, immigration, drug trafficking, new technologies such as artificial intelligence and China's continued manufacturing superiority and chokehold on key supply chains.

As the news media was escorted from the summit's opening session, Carney could be heard as he turned to Trump and referenced how the U.S. leader's remarks about the Middle East, Russia and China had already drawn attention to the summit.

"Mr. President, I think you've answered a lot of questions already," Carney said.

Trump wants to focus on trade, though he may have to balance those issues with the broader need by the G7 countries — which also include Japan — to project a united front to calm down a world increasingly engulfed in chaos.

Asked if he planned to announce any trade agreements at the G7, Trump said Sunday: "We have our trade deals. All we have to do is send a letter, 'This is what you're going to have to pay.' But I think we'll have a few, few new trade deals."

The German, U.K., Japanese and Italian governments have each signaled a belief that a friendly relationship with Trump this year can help to keep any public drama at a minimum, after the U.S. president in 2018 opposed a joint communique when the G7 summit was last held in Canada.

Going into the summit, there was no plan for a joint statement this year, a sign that the Trump administration sees no need to build a shared consensus with fellow democracies if it views such a statement as contrary to its goals of new tariffs, more fossil fuel production and a Europe that is less dependent on the U.S. military.

"The Trump administration almost certainly believes that no deal is better than a bad deal," said Caitlin Welsh, a director at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank who was part of Trump's team for the G7 in Trump's first term.

The White House has stayed decidedly mum about its goals for the G7, which originated as a 1973 finance ministers' meeting to address the oil crisis and evolved into a yearly summit meant to foster personal relationships among world leaders and address global problems.

The G7 briefly expanded to the G8 with Russia as a member, only for Russia to be expelled in 2014 after annexing Crimea and taking a foothold in Ukraine that preceded its aggressive 2022 invasion of that nation.

Trump is having a series of bilateral meetings during the summit with other world leaders. Beyond Carney, Trump also expected to have bilateral meetings or pull-aside conversations with Starmer, Merz, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He talked with Macron about "tariffs, the situation in the Near and Middle East, and the situation in Ukraine," according Macron spokesperson Jean-Noël Ladois.

Ahead of his expected Tuesday meeting with Trump, Zelenskyy said one of the topics for discussion will be a "defense package" that Ukraine is ready to purchase from the U.S. as part of the ongoing war with Russia.

Tariff talk

The U.S. president has imposed 25% tariffs on steel, aluminum and autos, all of which have disproportionately hit Japan. Trump is also charging a 10% tax on imports from most countries, though he could raise rates on July 9, after the 90-day negotiating period set by him would expire.

The United Kingdom reached a trade framework with the U.S. that included quotas to protect against some tariffs, but the 10% baseline would remain as the Trump administration is banking on tariff revenues to help cover the cost of its income tax cuts.

Canada and Mexico face separate tariffs of as much as 25% that Trump put into place under the auspices of stopping fentanyl smuggling, through some products are still protected under the 2020 U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement signed during Trump's first term.

Merz said of trade talks that "there will be no solution at this summit, but we could perhaps come closer to a solution in small steps."

The Trump administration has insisted that its broad tariffs will produce trade agreements that box out China, though it's unclear how antagonizing trade partners would make them want to strengthen their reliance on the U.S. Carney has been outspoken in saying Canada can no longer look to the U.S. as an enduring friend.

That might leave Trump with the awkward task of wanting to keep his tariffs in place while also trying to convince other countries that they're better off siding with the U.S. than China.