FRANCE PERSPECTIVE

Paris, June 23, 2026. French media outlets provide extensive coverage of the US-Iran talks in Switzerland, with the first negotiating cycle concluding Monday, June 22, in an Alpine hotel. The results are both substantive and incomplete: concrete advances have been recorded, but the strategic question of the Strait of Hormuz remains at the center of concerns.

On the results side, France 24 and RFI detail the establishment of four working groups—sanctions relief, nuclear matters, economic reconstruction, and oversight mechanisms—announced by Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi. BFM Business and Sud Ouest clarify that an agreement was reached to "immediately" release 12 billion dollars in frozen Iranian assets, disbursed "in two tranches of 6 billion each." The United States separately announced a two-month suspension of sanctions targeting Iranian oil, described as "a very solid foundation for achieving a successful final agreement" by US Vice President JD Vance.

But it is a statement by Iran's lead negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf that captures the attention of French newsrooms. Cited by the state news agency Irna and picked up across all outlets, he declared: "Everyone must know that the administration of the Strait of Hormuz will never return to what it was before the war. Iran will administer the Strait of Hormuz." France 24 recalls that before the conflict erupted on February 28, the passage was free of direct Iranian control, and that approximately 20 percent of global oil and LNG transit through it under normal conditions.

L'Express notes that tanker traffic partially resumed as early as Monday—two supertankers carrying up to 4 million barrels of crude entered the Gulf—but crossings remain below normal levels. This positive economic signal is offset, however, by the caution reflected in stock markets and among oil analysts, who are sensitive to the persistence of Iran's claim over the strait.

Le Nouvel Obs recalls the broader diplomatic context: American and Iranian delegations also agreed on a roadmap for concluding a definitive agreement within 60 days, under Pakistani and Qatari mediation. Trump's statement, described as "insulting," during the talks is mentioned, underscoring the recurring tensions that mark this negotiation. 20 Minutes relays Trump's warning to NATO—cautioning allies who did not support the operation against Iran that he might not honor his defense commitments—which broadens the geopolitical scope of this agreement well beyond the Iranian issue alone.

Implicitly, French media point out that Secretary of State Marco Rubio must now convince Gulf allies—the Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia—who are concerned about concessions judged as too generous to Tehran, notably the absence of limits on Iranian ballistic missiles and a 300-billion-dollar reconstruction fund mentioned in preliminary agreement drafts.