President Emmanuel Macron convened a new national defense and security council on Tuesday afternoon “on the situation in Iran and the Middle East,” announced the Elysee. This new defense council bringing together ministers and officials responsible for security issues – the last one was on March 10 – comes as Donald Trump pressures France to respond positively to his request for assistance in securing the Strait of Hormuz.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog called on European countries on Monday to “support any effort to eradicate” the Lebanese Islamist movement Hezbollah, an ally of Iran.
“Lebanon is not sinking into chaos”
He also praised the French offer to facilitate direct discussions between Lebanon and Israel, which launched massive aerial strikes and “limited ground operations” against Hezbollah. Lebanon was dragged into the Middle East war when Hezbollah attacked Israel on March 2 to avenge the assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed two days earlier by an Israeli strike in Tehran.
Emmanuel Macron called on Israel on Saturday to accept “direct discussions” with the Lebanese leadership and “all components” of Lebanon, which he said he is ready to “facilitate” by “welcoming them to Paris,” in order to prevent “Lebanon from sinking into chaos.” Israel continued its bombings on Tehran on Tuesday and against pro-Iranian Hezbollah in the southern suburbs of Beirut, on the 18th day of the Middle East war that is also engulfing Iraq, the scene of many attacks.
