French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday spoke to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and called on him to support a "general de-escalation" in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, his office said, according to the AFP news agency. Macron stressed "the responsibility of Iran to support a general de-escalation and to use its influence in this direction with the destabilizing actors that enjoy its support", said the statement from the French President’s office. The Iranian presidential website said that in his conversation with Macron, Pezeshkian had called for an end to "crimes" in Lebanon and Gaza. They discussed ways to secure a "ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel", a statement on the website said, as quoted by AFP . Pezeshkian "asked the French president to work together with other European countries to force the Zionist regime to stop the genocide and crimes in Gaza and Lebanon", added the statement. The conversation between the two leaders came as it is widely expected that Israel will retaliate against Iran for its ballistic missile attack on Israel earlier this month. NBC News reported earlier that American officials believe that Israel has narrowed down the list of targets it will strike in retaliation for Iran's massive ballistic missile attack two weeks ago and will not strike any of Iran's nuclear facilities. According to the report, Israel is planning to strike Iranian military and energy infrastructure sites. However, a final decision on which sites to strike has not yet been made. US President Joe Biden has stated or hinted at his opposition to Israel striking Iran's nuclear facilities or fields. The day after Iran's attack, Biden stated , “The answer is no," in response to a reporter's question about whether he would support an Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear sites. He added that while Israel has the right to respond to the attack, it should do so “proportionally” without elaborating on what that means. As for Macron, he has continuously called for a de-escalation and ceasefire in the Middle East and at times has resorted to criticizing Israel. On Friday, the French President said that "stopping the export of weapons" used by Israel in Gaza and Lebanon was the only way to end fighting there. Macron also claimed that Israel was “deliberately targeting” UNIFIL peacekeepers in Lebanon and said this was "absolutely unacceptable". Related articles: Four senior Hamas terrorists eliminated in strike in Jabaliya 'We have progressed to another stage of the renewed operation' Nicaragua pulls its participation in ICJ case against Israel War can end tomorrow, it's simple: hostages back, Hamas out In August, Macron told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to "avoid a cycle of reprisals" in the Middle East in a conversation which took place following the eliminations of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and Hezbollah military commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut. Previously, Macron spoke to Netanyahu and urged him to prevent a "conflagration" between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
