Endless Impudence of the Élysée Palace

In recent weeks, coinciding with indirect nuclear negotiations between Iran and the United States, we have witnessed rhetoric from French officials, led by France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot. In this regard, Barrot has claimed:

“Paris has been in coordination with Washington regarding the potential content and timing of an agreement, and any potential agreement must include components related to Iran’s missile program and regional activities. Iran poses a major threat to our security interests, as we, France, and the city of Marseille, are within the range of [Iran’s missiles], as are our close partners in the region. Therefore, we take this matter very seriously.”

The reality is that since 2017 (the first year of Macron’s presidency at the Élysée Palace), Paris has made behind-the-scenes commitments to Netanyahu and Trump regarding the comprehensive containment of Iran’s missile capabilities. Currently, Élysée Palace officials are intent on fulfilling this brazen commitment—a dream that Macron and other French officials will take to their graves!

Undoubtedly, France and other Western actors, including the United States, are in no position whatsoever to dictate the scope and limits of Iran’s missile activities, especially at a time when the occupying Zionist regime is carrying out the most severe attacks possible against regional security.

The formulation of the “Western missile confrontation with Iran” is not as complex as it may seem. The United States and the European troika (France, Germany, and the UK) have entered into a deal to counter Iran’s defensive and missile capabilities. Washington and Paris are the primary actors on the other side of this equation, while London and Berlin have already given the green light to the White House and the Élysée Palace. Thus, in terms of substance, there is a consensus between Washington and the European troika.

However, in terms of form and appearance, there is only one disagreement between the U.S. and its allies: Trump believes Iran’s missile capabilities should be addressed within the framework of the JCPOA (Iran nuclear deal) and linked to the agreement’s document. In contrast, the European troika and U.S. Democrats argue that Iran’s missile program should be treated as a separate issue, formalized in a secondary agreement.

What is certain is that the U.S., France, Germany, and the UK will not achieve their core objective (containing Iran’s missile program), whether through a comprehensive agreement or a separate secondary one!

Over the past and recent years, Paris has become one of the main sources of crisis in the West Asia region. During the Gaza war and the genocide of Palestinians, it has acted as one of Tel Aviv’s security and political partners in this bloody equation.