Europeans fail to move Rubio at G7 meeting over Iran war, Russian involvement

(CN) — European foreign ministers used a two-day G7 meeting in France to press U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio to pursue a diplomatic end to the month-old Iran war, arguing the conflict was fueling Russian power — an argument Rubio dismissed before the talks had even begun, and again as he left.

European ministers used the gathering at the Vaux-de-Cernay Abbey outside Paris to press Rubio on two fronts: that Russia was actively helping Iran target U.S. forces, and that the war needed a diplomatic exit. Rubio was unmoved on both counts.

The meeting brought together the foreign ministers of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States — the Group of Seven leading industrialized democracies — alongside EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas and delegations from Ukraine, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, India and South Korea.

The talks were the first chance for European allies to confront Rubio face-to-face since the U.S. and Israel launched their offensive against Iran on Feb. 28 — and the first test of whether Washington could be persuaded to change course.

It wasn’t. Thejoint statement stopped short of any concrete commitments, calling only for civilian protection and free navigation.

Instead, ministers trained their fire on Moscow. France had “reasons to believe” Russia was actively supporting Iran’s military effort, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said at a closing news conference Friday. “Russia is helping Iran with intelligence to target Americans, to kill Americans,” Kallas had told reporters at the abbey on Thursday. British, German and Ukrainian counterparts made similar accusations on the sidelines.

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov rejected the intelligence-sharing accusations in an interview with French television Thursday, while acknowledging Moscow had supplied Iran with military equipment. Lavrov had “calmly and barefacedly deployed the official line,” Barrot said Friday. Russia “does not defend international law in Iran, nor in Ukraine, nor anywhere else,” he added.

Leaving the meeting on the tarmac Friday, Rubio was unimpressed. “There is nothing Russia is doing for Iran that is in any way impeding or affecting our operation or the effectiveness,” he told reporters.

Before departing Washington on Thursday, he had been equally dismissive. “Russia is primarily concentrating on the war they have going on right now. Beyond that, I don’t have anything to add,” he said.

“[The Strait] could be open tomorrow if Iran stops threatening global shipping,” he said, arguing, “The only people I’m interested in making happy are the people of the United States.”

Despite weeks of public demands from President Donald Trump for European allies to join the war effort, Rubio made no specific military requests of any G7 partner at the meeting, Barrot told reporters Friday. Rubio stated U.S. war aims behind closed doors as the elimination of Iran’s ballistic missile capabilities.

The EU has pointed to Operation Aspides — the EU naval mission in the Red Sea — as a potential building block for any future Hormuz deployment. France organized a separate videoconference Thursday with around 35 militaries seeking partners for a post-ceasefire mission. But any Persian Gulf deployment, Kallas said, would require a ceasefire and a coalition of the willing first.

European diplomats made their push partly out of concern over reports that the State Department had warned allies U.S. weapons deliveries to Kyiv — Patriot interceptors especially — could be disrupted as the Pentagon prioritizes Iran. NATO chief Mark Rutte tried to reassure allies in Brussels on Thursday that U.S. support to Kyiv “continues to flow.”

On the tarmac, Rubio acknowledged U.S. weapons could be redirected. “If the United States has a military need, whether it is to replenish our stocks or to fulfill some mission in the national interest of the United States, we’re always going to come first when it comes to our weapons,” he said. “But as of now, that has not happened.”

An unclear endgame

The difficulty for European diplomats was that Washington itself was sending mixed signals about where the war was heading — and U.S. intelligence suggested the military campaign was far from over.

“I am pausing the period of Energy Plant destruction by 10 days,” Trump posted on Truth Social Thursday evening, at Iran’s request he said, setting an April 6 deadline. Talks were “going very well,” he added.

Iran had allowed 10 oil tankers through the strait as a “present” — proof he was dealing with the right people, Trump told his Cabinet on Thursday. “The Department of War will continue negotiating with bombs,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said during the meeting. “War is negotiation by other means.”

Special envoy Steve Witkoff confirmed that a 15-point peace framework had been transmitted to Tehran via Pakistan, but declined to share its contents. Iran disputed any negotiations were happening, and floated a five-point counter-plan demanding war reparations and sovereignty over the strait.

Rubio, for his part, said Friday that keeping the strait open would be an “immediate challenge” even after U.S. military objectives were met, with Iran potentially seeking to impose tolls. “Not only is this illegal, it’s unacceptable. It’s dangerous to the world,” he said. “And it’s important that the world have a plan.”

The conflict has taken roughly 11 million barrels per day out of global oil supply — the International Energy Agency has described the disruption as worse than the two 1970s oil shocks combined — with Brent crude up 53% since the offensive began.

The G7 heads of state and government are next due to meet at a summit in Evian, south of France, in June.

Courthouse News correspondent Yuval Molina is based in Brussels, Belgium.