Deal Means Deal, Sign It!

Trump Tells Iran as G7 Awaits Final Signature

The fragile peace ending the Middle East war hung in a holding pattern Wednesday, with President Donald Trump declaring at the G7 summit in Evian, France, that the US-Iran accord would be finalized "shortly," though he stopped short of locking in a date, suggesting Thursday or Friday as likely signing days in Switzerland.

The mixed signals did little to calm jittery oil markets. Brent crude spiked as much as five percent intraday before settling near $80 a barrel, while US benchmark crude hovered around $77, as traders weighed how durable the ceasefire framework actually is.

Trump also addressed friction with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, insisting their relationship remains solid even as he renewed criticism of Israel's military operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon, suggesting the campaign could be handled more effectively. He confirmed that Washington had shared a copy of the draft accord with Israeli officials, pushing back on reports of being blindsided.

Reaction from the region was swift and triumphant on one side. Hezbollah's leader, Naim Qassem, praised the emerging deal as a major win for Iran and called on Lebanon to capitalize on the moment to press for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from its territory.

India and China 

Diplomatic pressure was building elsewhere too. China's foreign minister urged all parties to follow through on their commitments and warned that safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz needed careful handling, reflecting Beijing's economic stake in stable oil shipping routes. Meanwhile, India's prime minister used a sideline meeting with Trump to press for protections for Indian sailors, following the deaths of three Indian crew members in a recent US strike on a commercial vessel near Oman.

With so many regional and global stakeholders weighing in, the message converging from multiple directions was the same one Trump himself seemed to be channeling: the framework exists, the incentives align, and now it's simply time to sign.