Macron wants to protect Lebanon from escalation in Iran war
French President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday he had held talks with top-level Lebanese officials to develop a plan to end attacks currently being carried out by the pro-Iranian Hezbollah militia in Lebanon and Israel.
The Lebanese authorities were committed to taking control of Hezbollah positions and fully ensuring security throughout the national territory.
“I will support them as best I can,” Macron said on the X platform.
France will strengthen its cooperation with the Lebanese armed forces and provide them with armored transport vehicles as well as operational and logistical support, he added.
Macron spoke on the eve of an imminent Israeli attack on the suburbs of Beirut, the Lebanese capital.
The war in Iran reignited clashes between Israel and Hezbollah when Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel in response to the assassination of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
The Lebanese government is also under pressure to enforce the agreed disarmament of Hezbollah, considered Tehran’s most important non-state ally.
France will increase its humanitarian aid to Lebanon, Macron said. Several tons of medicine are on the way, as well as shelter and relief equipment.
France is traditionally closely linked to Lebanon as a former mandated power.
