French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday claimed that the tone of comments adopted by the United States, Israel and Saudi Arabia towards Iran was virtually “a path to war”, Reuters reports.
“The official line pursued by the United States, Israel and Saudi Arabia, who are our allies in many ways, is almost one that would lead us to war,” Macron was quoted as having told reporters.
The line being taken was “a deliberate strategy for some,” he said, while adding that France wanted to maintain some balance.
“Otherwise, we end up surreptitiously rebuilding an ‘axis of evil’,” he said, referring to a comment by former U.S. President George W. Bush, who once used that term to describe countries including Iran, Iraq and North Korea.
Macron also said he would only visit Iran if there was a return to calm and respect for freedoms.
His comments come amid the ongoing protests in Iran. On Tuesday, Macron urged his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani to show restraint in dealing with protests, while French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian postponed his trip to Tehran, which was planned for later this week.
U.S. President Donald Trump has backed the anti-regime protests of the last week, saying it is time for a change in Iran.
Rouhani pushed back on Trump’s criticism of the Tehran regime, saying Trump had “no right to feel pity” for Iran’s people.
"This man who today in America wants to sympathize with our people has forgotten that a few months ago he called the nation of Iran terrorist," Rouhani told a cabinet meeting earlier this week.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, responded Monday to claims by Rouhani that Israel was behind a series of anti-government protests in the Islamic republic, a charge Netanyahu called “laughable”.
Netanyahu praised the demonstrators, who on Thursday began protesting the Tehran regime as high unemployment rates and high prices for consumer good fuel popular angst against the government.
“Unlike Rouhani, I will not insult the Iranian people. They deserve better. They seek freedom. They seek justice. They seek the basic liberties that have been denied to them for decades.”