French President Emmanuel Macron has told Netanyahu to “avoid a cycle of reprisals”, after earlier delivering the same message to his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian, AFP quotes the French presidency as saying.

Pezeshkian told Macron in a separate telephone call that the West “should immediately stop selling arms and supporting” Israel if it wanted to prevent war, his office said.

The United States, which has sent extra warships and jets to the region, has urged both Iran and Israel to avoid an escalation.

President Joe Biden this week spoke with regional leaders, while Blinken told reporters the message of restraint had also been communicated “directly” to both Israel and Iran.