Macron says Iranians are in charge of any change

PARIS — Change in Iran must come from the Iranian people alone, not from abroad, says French President Emmanuel Macron.

In a speech to foreign diplomats, Macron said Thursday that “today there is a crisis in Iran. This crisis (comes from) the free expression of the Iranian people.”

“Our role is to be on the lookout, demanding, scrupulous” to ensure that protesters’ rights are not abused.

He appeared to distance himself from U.S. President Donald Trump’s encouragement of protesters who began taking to the streets of Iranian towns and cities a week ago, and from the notion that a foreign hand is behind the action — as Iran has claimed.

Trump tweeted on Wednesday, “Such respect for the people of Iran as they try to take back their corrupt government.” He added: “You will see great support from the United States at the appropriate time!”

The French president said that in no country can a “durable, stable situation be thought up in an office in Paris, Brussels or Washington. It (must) take place within the country, at the heart of civil society.”

The Iranian Ambassador to the United Nations, Gholamali Khoshroo, contended in a letter Wednesday that Washington was intervening “in a grotesque way in Iran’s internal affairs.”

On Thursday, Iran’s prosecutor general, Mohammad Jafar Montazeri, directly named a CIA official as the “main designer” of the protests. However, the Trump administration has denied a role in the protests.

The deadly unrest in Iran began one week ago. Hundreds have been arrested, social media apps have been blocked and pro-government rallies have quickly followed. French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian postponed a planned visit to Tehran this week.