WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to France this week to try to persuade America’s skeptical Group of Seven allies to back the U.S. strategy in the Iran conflict, the State Department said Tuesday.
Rubio will attend a G7 foreign ministers meeting near Versailles on Friday “to advance key U.S. interests” and “discuss shared security concerns and opportunities for cooperation,” the department said.
Areas of focus will include the Russia-Ukraine war, the situation in the Middle East, and threats to peace and stability, the statement said, issued amid conflicting accounts about whether the U.S. and Iran are discussing a resolution to the crisis.
President Donald Trump said Monday that the U.S. and Iran have had discussions, although Iran has denied it. Other countries are involved in early efforts to find an off-ramp to the crisis, which has pushed oil prices higher after the Strait of Hormuz was largely closed to shipping, including tankers.
Nearly all other G7 nations — Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan — have reacted coolly to the U.S.-Israeli military operation against Iran and declined to participate, drawing Trump’s ire even as he maintains the U.S. doesn’t need their help.
Trump has criticized several G7 members and NATO allies for not responding to his calls for help reopening the Strait of Hormuz, though in recent days some have indicated a willingness to back appropriate action to restore normal traffic.