Foreign ministers from the Group of Seven countries on Friday laid the ground for long-term security in the Strait of Hormuz once the Iran war is over.
Despite tensions ahead of talks between the US and Europeans, ministers found consensus at a summit outside Paris on blocking Iran from having a say on which ships cross the strategic passageway.
"It is out of the question to live in a world where international waters are closed to navigation as part of conflicts that do not concern the countries that need this traffic to be able to take place," Jean-Noel Barrot, the French Foreign Minister, said after the meeting.
G7 states are Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Canada, the US and Japan. Saudi Arabia, India, South Korea and Brazil were also invited for some sessions.
Ahead of departing for France, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had echoed US President Donald Trump's criticism of European pushback on his demands to be involved in reopening the Strait.
Yet behind closed doors, Mr Rubio made no demands, sources said. He disclosed he expects its operation in Iran to conclude in "weeks, not months" after he met with the foreign ministers. Echoing European warnings, he said that Iranian setting up a tolling system would be unacceptable.
"There was a consensual discussion based on the US not asking for anything from Europeans now, but to do something the day after," sources with knowledge of the discussion said.
They added the US had expressed willingness to take part in a naval operation to protect commercial ships from Iranian attack.
The US would not lead the mission, in a bid to avoid giving the impression that protective naval operations would constitute a continuation of the war.
EU states have a history of deploying joint defensive naval operations in the Red Sea to protect ships from Houthi and pirate attacks. Leaders said this could be replicated in the Strait but only after the war is over.
Iran has nearly entirely closed it to commercial shipping, causing oil prices to soar. Its parliament is drafting a law to collect tolls from ships passing through the strait, through which roughly one-fifth of the world's oil usually passes.
Mr Rubio also said the US-Israeli war on Iran is expected to last weeks, not months, according to the sources. “The message from Rubio was that the war would not last too long. It’s a matter of weeks,” they said. “The US has achieved a lot of their military goals.”
The war showed no signs of abating on Friday, as Israel struck targets in Tehran and other Iranian cities overnight. It has vowed to continue striking Iran as a result of its continued retaliatory missile fire.
Mr Rubio also reportedly confirmed that Iran's strategic leadership has become a black box since the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Israeli strikes on the first day of the war on February 28. He was succeeded by his son Mojtaba, reputed to be more of a hardliner than his late father.
The US and Iran are currently engaged in talks to end the war, but the identity of Iranian negotiators remains unclear and Mr Trump has refused to reveal them.
Mr Rubio told G7 ministers that discussions are taking place with two senior undisclosed Iranian figures who themselves are not the decision makers, the sources said. "Nobody knows who they are," they added.
Europeans have resisted calls by US President Donald Trump to get involved militarily in Hormuz, arguing that it is not their war. They say they were not informed in advance last month ahead of US and Israeli joint attacks on Iran.
The mood was more conciliatory at a G7 lunch dedicated to the Iran war, which took place in a 12th century abbey converted into a five-star hotel in a forest outside Paris. Mr Rubio was understood to have shared analysis on the war without making requests from G7 foreign ministers, from Britain, Canada, Italy, France, Germany, the UK and Japan.
On Ukraine, Mr Rubio said on X that he had reiterated US commitment to find "a ceasefire and a negotiated settlement to the Russia-Ukraine war." Behind closed doors, he reportedly said that talks had stalled. Recent US sanctions lifting on Russia to help oil flow during the Iran conflict is temporary, he added.
Speaking after the meeting, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said there was no disagreement with the US on Iran. "We are already feeling the economic repercussions everywhere, especially in Europe, quite significantly," Mr Wadephul said.
"That's why we discussed these issues very thoroughly, and there is absolutely no disagreement. There was and is no request from the United States, especially to us, to make a military contribution before the end of hostilities."
An unexpected joint statement on Iran was also issued despite French diplomats saying ahead of the summit they did not expect this. They called for an immediate stop to attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure in the Iran war. The ministers also reiterated the need to restore safe and toll-free freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.
