France Is Not a Party to the Middle East War, Macron Says

President Emmanuel Macron dismissed today any suggestion that France is a party to the war in the Middle East, ignited one week ago by a U.S.-Israeli strike on Iran, which responded by targeting American interests across the region.

"France is not part of this war — we are not in combat, nor are we going to enlist in it," the president stated on Instagram, in response to a young user expressing concern over the course of events.

Macron ordered the deployment of the nuclear aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, along with additional naval and air assets, to the Mediterranean in response to the Middle East crisis, where hundreds of fatalities — the majority Iranian — have been reported, alongside forced displacement and widespread infrastructure destruction.

The head of state explained that France's priority regarding the conflict is to protect its citizens abroad and assist allies in intercepting drones and missiles launched by Iran in retaliation.

Following the strike initiated last Saturday by the United States and Israel, Tehran struck back with attacks on neighboring Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Oman, and Iraq — asserting that its targets were not those countries themselves, but rather U.S. military installations on their soil.

Macron also reiterated French support for Lebanon, which has faced Israeli attacks in recent days following actions by Hezbollah, and stated that Paris would seek to secure maritime traffic in the region in the "most reasonable and peaceful way possible."

Also as part of its response to the U.S.-Israeli strikes, Iran ordered the closure of the Strait of Hormuz to navigation — a chokepoint through which approximately 20 million barrels of oil pass daily, representing one-fifth of global production.