&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "Macron calls Pezeshkian, urges Tehran to halt strikes on neighbours in Gulf")
French President Emmanuel Macron called his Iranian counterpart Massoud Pezeshkian on Sunday and urged for an immediate halt to regional strikes and reopening the Strait of Hormuz for free navigation. He also raised concerns over Iran’s nuclear programme in his call with the leader in Tehran.
“I stressed the need for Iran to immediately cease its strikes against countries in the region,” Macron said in a post on X. He also asked Iran to guarantee freedom of navigation by “putting an end to the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz.”
Macron also mentioned the case of the two French nationals, Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris, who were released from an Iranian prison in November and transferred to the French Embassy in Tehran after more than three years in detention on spying charges. He called for their return to France as an “absolute priority.”
Macron expressed deep concern over the development of Iran’s nuclear and ballistic programmes and said a diplomatic solution is necessary.
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Macron is the first Western leader to talk to Iran’s president since the beginning of the war.
Both leaders agreed to remain in contact, according to Macron’s post on X.
In addition to separate talks with the emirs of Qatar and Kuwait and the presidents of Egypt and Azerbaijan on Sunday, the French president also spoke with President Trump, Macron’s office said.
7th US service member dies from Iran’s initial attacks
One more US service member has died from injuries sustained during Iran’s initial retaliatory attacks, the US Central Command said Sunday.
Also Read: ‘We will not target Iran's energy sector, infrastructure’: US Energy Secretary Chris Wright
The service member was seriously wounded during an attack in Saudi Arabia on March 1, CENTCOM said. The identity of the service member will be released following the notification of the next of kin.
This is the seventh American service member to be killed in the Middle East since the war in Iran started on February 28.
