France-Saudi accord to curb Iran’s ‘expansionism’
French President Emmanuel Macron yesterday said his government agreed with Saudi Arabia on the need to curb Iran’s expansionism, although he said the global nuclear deal with Tehran must be preserved.
At the end of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s three-day visit to France, Mr Macron said there were still differences with Riyadh over the 2015 accord but that the two countries agreed on the need to “limit Iran’s ballistic activity and regional expansionism”.
“This strategic vision means reducing all the projects of expansionist political Islam, which could feed other forms of terrorism and destabilise the region,” he said.
Mr Macron said France would not tolerate the continuing threat to Saudi Arabia from ballistic missiles that have been supplied by Iran and launched by Houthi rebels in Yemen.
He stressed the need for “respect for international humanitarian law”, and said: “We will continue to be extremely vigilant on this point.”
Mr Macron defended weapons sales to the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen but said he was concerned by the humanitarian situation, and would host a conference on the issue before summer.
When asked about civilian casualties, Prince Mohammed said the coalition was doing everything to avoid civilian casualties in Yemen but that mistakes were inevitable in conflicts.
France and Saudi Arabia have signed up for major cultural exchanges and discussions concerning war in the Middle East, during the crown prince’s trip. Companies from both countries signed draft deals worth a total of €14.5 billion (Dh65.9bn) in areas including petrochemicals, water treatment, tourism, health, agriculture and culture, the French-Saudi business forum said.
Prince Mohammed’s visit ended with a dinner last night to which Lebanese prime minister Saad Al Hariri was invited, in a move to show that the young leader can be a mediator in the region.