On a visit to Israel on Friday, March 20, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said that Iran must make major concessions as part of any long-term political solution following the Middle East war, Le Monde reports.
"Whatever the outcome of the ongoing military operations, it must be complemented by a political solution that produces lasting results," Barrot told journalists in Tel Aviv. "In this regard, the Iranian regime must be prepared to make major concessions – a radical change of stance." Barrot repeated a European call for a moratorium on strikes against energy infrastructure after an Israeli bombardment of Iran's key gas field pushed up energy prices.
France's top diplomat, who visited Beirut on Thursday, expressed France's "reservations" about Israel's ground operations to fight Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon. He called on Israel to seize an "historic opportunity" and hold direct talks with the Lebanese authorities, after French President Emmanuel Macron agreed to host negotiations. "The Lebanese government has signaled its unprecedented openness to direct talks at the highest level with Israel," he said.
Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said he had discussed with Barrot the "scope of attacks on Israel from Lebanese territory." "Unfortunately, the Lebanese government and its army are not taking any meaningful action against Hezbollah, neither militarily nor in other aspects," Saar wrote on X. He also called on the EU to list Hezbollah "in its entirety as a terrorist organization, ot only its military wing, as several European countries already did."
