French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday directly disagreed with US President Donald Trump’s tough line towards Iran, warning military action intended to change the regime could trigger regional instability and long-term chaos.
Speaking a day after the G7 summit in Canada, Macron condemned the increasing calls for forceful action as the Israel-Iran conflict entered its fifth day. He pointed out that employing force to overthrow Iran’s regime would make the same errors as were made in Iraq and Libya. “Does anyone believe Iraq in 2003 or Libya ten years later was a success? Absolutely not,” Macron said.
Macron’s comments came after Trump’s Twitter statement calling for Iran’s “unconditional surrender” and hinting that American patience was “wearing thin.” Trump also criticized Macron for saying he departed the G7 to broker a ceasefire, saying that was not his motive for his premature exit.
Macron reaffirmed his opposition to air strikes against Iran’s oil facilities or measures that might jeopardize the lives of civilians, calling instead for resumed international negotiations to keep Iran’s nuclear and ballistic activities under scrutiny. “Our duty is to get back to dialogue,” he insisted, calling for diplomacy rather than escalation.
At the same time, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz threatened that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei would suffer the same destiny as Saddam Hussein. According to opposite views, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz supported Israel and claimed that it was doing the “dirty work” of the West but could not destroy Iran’s Fordow site without the Americans’ help.
Merz went further to state that American military assistance may be contingent upon Iran’s readiness to rejoin negotiations, a message that sharply differed from Macron’s plea for restraint.
With the world powers still divided in approach, the looming threat of further escalation hangs high over the already unstable Middle East.