Israel far-right minister demands end to Gaza ceasefire talks

DUBAI: French President Emmanuel Macron reaffirmed France’s support for Lebanese sovereignty and security on Friday, following a deadly Israeli drone strike that killed two Lebanese soldiers in the southern town of Naqoura earlier on Thursday.

In a statement posted on X, Macron said he had spoken with Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam to discuss the country’s security situation and the path forward.

The French president praised Lebanon’s efforts to reassert state authority on arms and announced new diplomatic initiatives to support stability and reconstruction.

“I commended the courageous decisions taken by the Lebanese executive to restore the state’s monopoly on the use of force,” Macron said, urging the Lebanese government to adopt a national plan expected to be presented to the Cabinet in the coming days.

He reiterated that any successful stabilization plan must include the “complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon and an end to all violations of Lebanese sovereignty.

“France has consistently stated its readiness to play a role in the handover of the remaining positions still occupied by Israel,” he said.

The plan Macron referred to is understood to involve efforts to disarm non-state actors operating along the southern border, particularly Hezbollah, and strengthen the presence of the Lebanese Armed Forces in coordination with the UN Interim Force in Lebanon.

UNIFIL’s mandate was renewed unanimously by the UN Security Council this week, a move Macron called an “important signal.”

France, a key contributor to the peacekeeping mission, has played a central role in mediating between Beirut and Tel Aviv.

The Lebanese Armed Forces also began receiving weapons handed over by Palestinian militant groups based in the country’s refugee camps, where an estimated 200,000 Palestinians live stateless.

Macron also announced that his personal envoy, Jean-Yves Le Drian, will return to Lebanon to assist in implementing the plan once it is approved.

The French president said he was committed to convening two high-level international conferences by the end of the year— one to support the Lebanese army and another focused on Lebanon’s broader recovery and reconstruction.

“Lebanon’s security and sovereignty must rest solely in the hands of the Lebanese authorities,” Macron said, calling for a vision of the country where “security is restored, sovereignty affirmed, and prosperity rebuilt.”

France has historically maintained close ties with Lebanon and has taken a leading role in recent years to address the country’s political paralysis, economic collapse, and worsening security environment.

COPENHAGEN: EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Friday the coming weeks offered an “opportunity” to hammer out a diplomatic solution on Iran’s nuclear program, after European powers triggered a 30-day deadline for sanctions to come back into force.

“We are entering a new phase with this 30 days that is now giving us also the opportunity to really find diplomatic ways to find a solution,” Kallas told journalists.

“We have this 30 days to sort things out,” she added.

France, Britain and Germany on Thursday set off a mechanism that could reimpose United Nations sanctions on Iran in 30 days for failing to comply with commitments over its nuclear program it agreed to a decade ago.

Russia condemned the move to launch a process that could reimpose UN sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program, saying it was absurd to solely blame Tehran for the collapse of the 2015 nuclear accord.

That came after weeks of warnings over Iran’s alleged breaches of the 2015 agreement with world powers to curb its nuclear program. The sanctions were suspended under the deal.

Iran warned that it would “respond appropriately” to the step, which risks ending the most sustained diplomatic push in years for a peaceful solution to the Iranian nuclear crisis.

But the United Nations has also said the next 30 days represents a “window of opportunity” to strike a new deal.

France’s foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot said that “Iran’s nuclear escalation must not go any further” but emphasized the move “does not signal the end of diplomacy.”