Macron Urges Iran to Halt ‘Unacceptable Attacks’ Amid Rising Regional Tensions

French President Emmanuel Macron has called on Iran to immediately cease what he termed “unacceptable attacks” across the Middle East during a telephone conversation with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.

The French leader disclosed the call on Monday, warning that escalating hostilities involving Iran were destabilising the region and pushing it toward broader conflict.

According to Macron, he conveyed to Pezeshkian that Tehran must stop attacks carried out either directly or through allied groups operating in countries including Lebanon and Iraq.

Macron emphasised that France’s actions in the region were strictly defensive, aimed at protecting its national interests, regional partners, and international maritime routes.

“I called on him to put an immediate end to the unacceptable attacks Iran is carrying out against countries in the region, whether directly or through proxies, including in Lebanon and Iraq,” Macron said, adding that it was unacceptable for France to be targeted.

“I reminded him that France is acting within a strictly defensive framework aimed at protecting its interests, its regional partners, and freedom of navigation.”

The French president warned that the current escalation was dragging the region deeper into instability, with potentially severe long-term consequences.

“The unchecked escalation we are witnessing is plunging the entire region into chaos, with major consequences today and for the years to come. The people of Iran, like those across the region, are paying the price,” Macron stated.

Macron also called for the establishment of a new political and security framework to ensure lasting peace in the Middle East. He argued that such an arrangement must guarantee that Iran never acquires nuclear weapons while also addressing concerns over Tehran’s ballistic missile programme and what he described as its destabilising regional activities.

He further demanded the immediate restoration of freedom of navigation in the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical oil shipping routes.

During the conversation, Macron also raised the case of two detained French nationals, urging Iranian authorities to allow Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris to return safely to France.

“Only a new political and security framework can ensure peace and security for all. Such a framework must guarantee that Iran never acquires nuclear weapons, while also addressing the threats posed by its ballistic missile programme and its destabilising activities regionally and internationally,” he said.

“Freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz must be restored as soon as possible.”

Tensions between Western powers and Iran have intensified in recent months amid growing security concerns in the Middle East and disruptions to maritime traffic in the Gulf region.