Macron calls Pezeshkian and demands an end to 'attacks' by Tehran and its proxies

French President Emmanuel Macron spoke with his Iranian counterpart, Masoud Pezeshkian, Sunday evening, urging him to “put an end to the attacks” on other countries in the region, including attacks launched by Tehran or its affiliates such as Hezbollah in Lebanon.

In a message on X, Macron said he had called on Pezeshkian to “immediately end the unacceptable attacks that Iran is carrying out against countries in the region, whether directly or via proxies, as in Lebanon and Iraq.” The French president said that France “acts strictly within a defensive framework to protect its interests, its regional partners and in favor of freedom of navigation, and it is unacceptable that our country is being targeted” two days after the death of a French soldier in an attack carried out by a Shahed drone on a military base in Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan.

“The uncontrolled escalation we are witnessing is plunging the entire region into chaos with major consequences for today and the years to come. Populations, in Iran as well as throughout the region, are the victims,” Macron wrote, advocating for “a new political and security framework.” “Such a framework must ensure that Iran never acquires nuclear weapons while also addressing the threats posed by its ballistic missile program as well as its destabilizing regional and international activities,” he said.

He also urged that freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz be restored as quickly as possible.