LEILA FADEL, HOST:
President Trump wraps up a three-day visit to France, where he's meeting with world leaders at the G7 Summit.
A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
Yeah. This afternoon, he will hold a press conference where he's expected to field questions about his uncertain agreement to end the war with Iran.
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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: We have our deal done with Iran and it should be successful. It goes to a second stage, which I think will be actually easier.
MARTÍNEZ: But before leaving, he will stop at the opulent Palace of Versailles for dinner with French President Emmanuel Macron.
FADEL: NPR's White House correspondent Franco Ordoñez has been traveling with the president, and he joins us now from Evian. Hi, Franco.
FRANCO ORDOÑEZ, BYLINE: Hey, Leila.
FADEL: So President Trump has been touting his agreement all week, but he has yet to really release any details, any specific details. Why is that raising concerns?
ORDOÑEZ: Well, I mean, it's because the details of the agreement are so crucial. I mean, most experts and former officials that I speak with largely support this. I mean, it's a step toward the end of fighting, and putting something in writing helps hold the sides accountable. Now, Trump may say the second stage is easier, but I was speaking with Katherine Thompson, who worked on Middle East policy in Trump's Defense Department and is now at the Cato Institute - a libertarian think tank - and she told me the next 60 days are crucial, and it's where it really gets hard. And that's because the thorniest issues are still on the table, like what happens to the nuclear material that Iran still has, and what is the U.S. really prepared to do regarding sanctions relief?
KATHERINE THOMPSON: I am skeptical that we are going to achieve something in 60 days. I think that's a really ambitious timeline.
FADEL: You know, the U.S. started with this war with Israel, and now Israel's a potential spoiler, right? Their leadership has been really vocal about not wanting to comply with Iran's demands in Lebanon. How do they fit in here?
ORDOÑEZ: Yeah. I expect that's going to be another big part of the press conference this afternoon. I mean, particularly Trump's relationship with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. And that is because Israel really is another wild card that could blow up this deal. I mean, Israel has not signed on yet, and Trump has openly raised his concerns that Netanyahu can't stop dropping bombs on Lebanon, which Trump has said has hurt his own efforts to reach peace with Iran.
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TRUMP: I've had a great relationship with Bibi, but now Bibi has to be more responsible with respect to Lebanon.
ORDOÑEZ: Let me just add, Leila, when talking to us reporters yesterday, Trump seemed to be sending a message straight to Netanyahu when he said that, quote, "Israel would have been blown off the face of the Earth" if not for him. And these tensions, though, are not new, but they are important. And it's something to watch in the coming weeks because what happens in Israel and Lebanon could play a major role in whether this deal is a success.
FADEL: So a lot of eyes on another leader this week, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine. He was at the summit, and there were a lot of questions about whether Trump would meet with him. Did he?
ORDOÑEZ: Yeah, he did. Trump was part of the group of G7 leaders who met with Zelenskyy to talk about the war in Ukraine. Trump met with Zelenskyy again, briefly, along with Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Trump told us reporters after that it was a good meeting, and that now with Iran in the rearview mirror - those are his words - that he plans to turn his focus to the war in Ukraine. He told us he would do whatever he could. And he added that he also spoke earlier with Russian President Vladimir Putin and noted that the U.S. would soon be able to reimpose sanctions on Russia, which were eased during the Iranian war.
FADEL: Well, we'll have to see if Iran is really in the rearview mirror. That's White House correspondent Franco Ordoñez in Evian, France. Thank you.
ORDOÑEZ: Thank you, Leila. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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