This archive report was first published on 26 August 2019.
Published on August 26, 2019, the G7 summit in Biarritz, France, witnessed a dramatic shift in focus when Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif arrived to discuss the diplomatic deadlock on Tehran's disputed nuclear programme.
French President Emmanuel Macron's gamble to soothe spiralling tensions between Iran and the United States paid off, albeit briefly, as Zarif met with Macron and other European leaders, including British and German representatives.
"Road ahead is difficult. But worth trying," Zarif tweeted after the meeting, highlighting the challenges ahead in resolving the nuclear dispute.
Despite US sanctions that effectively banned Zarif from the United States, the Iranian diplomat's presence at the summit sparked hopes of a detente, with French officials confirming that US President Donald Trump was aware of Zarif's arrival.
However, trade tensions between the US and its allies dominated the summit's agenda, with Trump's imposition of tariffs on China and the EU's concerns over the impact on the global economy.
European leaders, including British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, urged Trump to reconsider his trade war approach, with Johnson stating, "Just to register a faint, sheep-like note of our view on the trade war -- we are in favour of trade peace on the whole."
Trump's relations with the European Union remained chilly, with the US leader predicting that Johnson would manage to untangle the Brexit mess and describing the EU as "an anchor around their ankle".
