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Trump lays out contours of preliminary agreement with Iran

President Trump speaks during a media conference at the end of the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, on June 17.
Anna Moneymaker
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Getty Images
President Trump speaks during a media conference at the end of the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, on June 17.

Updated June 17, 2026 at 1:21 PM EDT

President Trump on Wednesday laid out some of the broad strokes of his preliminary agreement with Iran during a press conference at the end of the G7 summit in France, saying that Iran will "work closely" with the U.S. to turn over enriched material that's "very deep in the bowels of the Earth."

"When we have a chance, we'll do it, but in the meantime, we have cameras on every inch of it. Nobody can do it, and if they do, we'll hit them with Patriots," Trump told reporters.

He said the two sides would begin the technical discussions on the nuclear issues immediately and that any economic relief for Iran as a result of the deal will "based on merit, and it won't be from us."

He has spent much of his time at the G7 summit touting his tentative agreement with Iran, but many questions remain about just how the reopening of the key Strait of Hormuz will unfold.

The U.S.-Israel-led war in Iran has rocked the global economy and decimated Trump's standing at home, even affecting approval ratings from his own supporters.

Asked about when the text of the agreement will be made public, Trump said Tuesday he believes the terms of agreement will happen on schedule.

"I think it is going to happen fairly on time. We have both been involved. Iran wants to get it done. They want to get back to business. Their relationship is now normalized, so I think it is going to go quickly," he said.

Trump also said Tuesday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu needs to dial down the aggression in Lebanon. "I've had a great relationship with Bibi, but now Bibi has to be more responsible with respect to Lebanon," he said.

In addition to discussions with European leaders about helping with the demining of the Strait of Hormuz, Trump turned his attention to another war.

It's a global conflict he hasn't been able to remedy: the war between Ukraine and Russia.

Trump spoke with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the summit in Evian, France, and said Tuesday he plans to meet with Zelenskyy again. He also said he spoke with Russia's Vladimir Putin on Sunday.

"Russia should make a deal. Russia has lost tremendous amounts of people, and so has Ukraine," Trump said.

"I have settled eight wars; this was the one I thought would be the easiest to settle," he added.

It remains to be seen whether Trump is ready to offer additional help to Ukraine.

Copyright 2026 NPR

Deepa Shivaram is a multi-platform political reporter on NPR's Washington Desk.