French President Emmanuel Macron has joined other world leaders in condemning Iranian attacks on the United Arab Emirates, which have thrown the fragile US-Iran truce into jeopardy, and urging both sides to return to diplomacy to bring an end to the Middle East war.
In a social media post published late on Monday, Macron called Iranian strikes against Emirati civilian infrastructure "unjustified and unacceptable".
He said France would continue "to support its allies in the Emirates and the region in the defence of their territory".
Macron added that a "lasting solution to the ongoing conflict will only come about through the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to free navigation, and a robust agreement that provides the necessary security guarantees for the countries of the region, particularly against the nuclear, ballistic, and regional destabilisation threats posed by Iran".
The call for further talks came after Iran and the United States traded fire over the strategic Strait of Hormuz, while US ally the United Arab Emirates reported Iranian attacks for the first time since the truce was declared nearly a month ago.
Diplomacy between Washington and Tehran has been deadlocked since the ceasefire, with the US twice aborting plans for senior officials to attend talks in Pakistan.
Macron calls for coordinated reopening of Hormuz as US initiative draws doubts
Tehran has vowed not to surrender control over the Strait of Hormuz – the narrow waterway through which a fifth of the world's oil flowed, before the US and Israel attacked Iran on 28 February.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz implored Tehran to "return to the negotiating table and stop holding the region and the world hostage", echoing calls from Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Saudi Arabia, a key US ally whose energy infrastructure has been hit by Iran, on Tuesday called for "diplomatic efforts to reach a political solution".
The US on Monday said its forces had sunk at least six small Iranian ships, but Iran denied any combat vessels had been hit and accused Washington of killing five civilians on boats.
'Dangerous escalation'
The UAE said it was targeted by a barrage of missiles and drones from Iran, calling the attacks "a dangerous escalation and an unacceptable transgression".
A strike targeting an energy installation in the emirate of Fujairah injured three Indian nationals, UAE authorities said.
They said four cruise missiles were launched, with three successfully shot down and another falling into the sea.
Iran also fired drones at a tanker affiliated with the UAE's state-owned oil giant ADNOC, authorities said.
A senior Iranian military official did not deny the strikes but said the Islamic republic had "no pre-planned programme to attack the oil facilities in question".
'If the Strait of Hormuz were to remain closed, we would face a major crisis'
"What happened was the product of the US military's adventurism to create a passage for ships to illegally pass through" the Strait of Hormuz, the official said, according to state television. "The US military must be held accountable for it."
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi – seen as a moderate in the cleric-run state – said the clashes showed there was "no military solution to a political crisis" and pointed to Pakistan's efforts to keep mediating.
"The US should be wary of being dragged back into quagmire by ill-wishers. So should the UAE. Project Freedom is Project Deadlock," he wrote on X (formerly Twitter), referring to the name of US President Donald Trump's mission to guide ships from neutral countries out of the Gulf.
Trump has repeatedly demanded that Iran reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which Tehran considers a main point of leverage.
(with AFP)
