French president Emmanuel Macron spoke by phone today with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the military escalation in the Middle East and Lebanon, in a conversation described as heated by the French press.
During the call, Netanyahu expressed his determination to use force to disarm the Lebanese Shia movement Hezbollah, backed by Iran, according to French media outlets accompanying Macron on his visit to Cyprus.
Macron intends to express political and military support for Cyprus following drone attacks made with Iranian-manufactured devices launched from Lebanon.
France has also requested an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council due to the “brutal deterioration” of the situation in Lebanon, announced French foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot on social media.
The intensification of the Israeli offensive in Lebanon followed Hezbollah attacks against northern Israel, in retaliation for the killing of Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei at the start of the Israeli and US offensive against Iran.
The Élysée Palace also announced that Macron will visit the French nuclear aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, currently deployed off the island of Crete in the Eastern Mediterranean. As commander-in-chief of the armed forces, the French president has a scheduled meeting with the ship’s crew to assess France’s military positioning in the region.
The Élysée stated that the deployment of the aircraft carrier to the Eastern Mediterranean — decided by Macron last week — aims to reinforce French military assets in the area and ensure the safety of France, its citizens, bases and allies in the region.
