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French President Emmanuel Macron called on Donald Trump on Wednesday to include Lebanon in the ceasefire reached between the United States and Iran, after speaking directly with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, as Israeli strikes on the country killed 182 people and wounded 890 in the deadliest bombardment of Beirut since the Israel-Hezbollah war began last month.
Macron, the first Western leader to speak with the Iranian president following the ceasefire announcement, said he had conveyed his position to both leaders. "I expressed my hope that the ceasefire will be fully respected by each of the belligerents, across all areas of confrontation, including in Lebanon," he wrote on X. He called Lebanon's inclusion a "necessary condition for the ceasefire to be credible and lasting."
Israel, however, made clear it did not regard Lebanon as covered by the Iran-US truce announced overnight, leaving open the question of whether the agreement would translate into any halt to its military operations there.
The Israeli strikes on Wednesday represented the most intense assault on Beirut since the outbreak of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. The Lebanese government's initial toll of 182 killed and 890 wounded underscored the scale of the bombardment as diplomatic efforts to widen the ceasefire's scope remained unresolved.
Beyond Lebanon, Macron framed the ceasefire as a starting point for broader diplomacy rather than an endpoint. He said any lasting agreement would need to address Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programs, its regional policy, and what he described as its actions obstructing navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint for global energy markets.
France, he said, would "play its full part, in close coordination with its partners" in efforts to shape a durable regional settlement aimed at ensuring "security for all in the Middle East."
The chain of events behind Macron's intervention is significant. Pezeshkian reached out to France first, a move that appeared to prompt Paris to press Washington on Tehran's behalf for a wider ceasefire.
France has historically positioned itself as a mediating voice in the Middle East, including playing a significant role in the 2015 Iran nuclear deal negotiations, and Macron has sought to maintain open channels with Tehran even as relations between Iran and Western powers have remained strained.
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