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French president Emmanuel Macron on Saturday called for the Israeli and American air strikes on Iran to stop after describing the outbreak of conflict as a danger to international peace.
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“‘The current escalation is dangerous for everyone. It must stop,” said Macron a few hours after his American counterpart, Donald Trump, and the Israeli leader, Benjamin Netanyahu, authorised their armed forces to bombard Iranian targets.
“The outbreak of war between the US, Israel and Iran has serious consequences for international peace and security.” Macron added.
In a video address after the US and Israel deployed their weapons, Trump made clear the goal was destruction of the Islamic republic’s military and removal of the authorities who have been in power since the 1979 revolution.
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“We are going to destroy their missiles and raze their missile industry to the ground,” Trump said in the address from his Florida home and posted to his Truth Social platform. “It will be totally – again – obliterated. We’re going to annihilate their navy.”
Trump urged opponents of the Iranian authorities to rise up. “When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take,” he added. “This will be probably your only chance for generations.”
In a section of the speech, Trump acknowledged that the lives of Americans may be lost in what US defence chiefs dubbed “Operation Epic Fury.”
Iran’s retaliation to the strikes homed in on neighbouring states housing US military bases.
Explosions were heard over the Qatari capital Doha near Al-Udeid military base, the largest US facility in the region.
Qatar’s defence ministry told the French news agency AFP that it had repelled a number of attacks.
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Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates also reported intercepting incoming Iranian missiles.
Macron, the British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, and the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, issued a joint statement condemning the Iranian response on Gulf states.
“Iran must refrain from indiscriminate military strikes,” they said. “We call for the resumption of negotiations and urge Iranian leaders to seek a negotiated solution. The Iranian people must be able to decide their own future.”
With the strikes underway, the exiled son of Iran’s last shah voiced confidence that the end was nigh for Iran’s rulers.
“We are very close to final victory,” Reza Pahlavi said in an online video address.
Pahlavi, who lives in the Washington area in the United States, added: “I want to be by your side as soon as possible so that together we can take back and rebuild Iran.”
As the region threatened to explode, Macron convened a meeting of top politicians and advisors in Paris on Saturday evening just before an emergency session of the United Nations Security Council in New York.
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Earlier on Saturday, Alice Rufo, the Minister Delegate for the Armed Forces, told French broadcaster France 2 that France’s priority in the wake of air strikes would be to protect its citizens and armed forces in the Near and Middle East.
Rufo said French nationals should exercise extreme caution and follow the instructions given by the French Embassy’s diplomatic and consular services.
“They are extremely professional. We must therefore trust our services,” she added.
“We are clearly in a situation where military escalation is underway. We must see what happens in the coming hours.”
Israel launched strikes against Iran on 13 June 2025, hitting nuclear and military sites as well as residential areas, and prompting waves of Iranian missile attacks on Israel.
Trump, announced 12 days later that Iran and Israel had agreed to a staggered ceasefire that would bring about an “official end” to their conflict.
(With newswires)
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