2024-09-25 09:40:12
French President Emmanuel Macron met with Iran’s president in New York on Tuesday, urging his Iranian counterpart to use his influence to ease tensions in Lebanon, the Elysee Assembly reported.
In a meeting with President Masoud Pezeshkian, Macron “stressed Iran’s responsibility to support a general de-escalation and to use its influence on destabilizing actors,” the Elysee Palace said in a statement, in an apparent reference to Iran-backed Hezbollah.
French President Emmanuel Macron also told his Iranian counterpart that an improvement in bilateral relations could only occur if three French citizens held in Iran were immediately released.
“The President of the Republic stressed the need for the immediate release of the three French citizens arbitrarily held hostage for two years in Iranian prisons under deplorable conditions, which is a prerequisite for improving bilateral relations with France,” the French presidency said in a statement.
Earlier, Cursor reported that IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevy said on Tuesday morning that Israel would continue to escalate its actions against Hezbollah.
“Hezbollah must not be given a break. We must continue to operate with all our strength,” he said in comments provided by the IDF. “Today, we will accelerate offensive operations and reinforce all arrays. The situation requires continued intensive operations on all fronts.”
Meanwhile, Hezbollah continues to fire rockets into northern Israel, and the IDF has struck hundreds of Iranian-backed group targets, including residential buildings where the military says Hezbollah is hiding rockets and missiles ready to fire at Israel.