French President Emmanuel Macron has detailed his conversation with his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian in a post on X.

He said, “I called on him to immediately put an end to the unacceptable attacks that Iran is carrying out against countries in the region, whether direct or via proxies, as in Lebanon and Iraq. I reminded him that France is intervening within a strictly defensive framework to protect its interests, those of its regional partners, and in favour of freedom of navigation, and that it is unacceptable for our country to be targeted.

“The uncontrolled escalation we are witnessing is plunging the entire region into chaos with major consequences today and for years to come. The populations, in Iran as everywhere in the region, are the victims.”

He said he conveyed to Pezeshkian that “only a new political and security framework will ensure peace and security for all”.

“Such a framework must guarantee that Iran never acquires nuclear weapons while addressing the threats posed by its ballistic programme as well as its regional and international destabilisation activities,” he added.

Macron said freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz must be restored as quickly as possible.

Moreover, “I also urged the Iranian president to allow Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris to return to France safely as soon as possible. Their ordeal has gone on long enough, and their place is among their loved ones,”, he added.