French President Emmanuel Macron urged new Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian not to support Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine in talks between the two leaders, according to the Agence France-Presse.

A number of Western countries, such as Switzerland and the US, have imposed sanctions on Iran for its support of Russia’s war machine with Shahed-136 kamikaze drones. The EU has also launched restrictions on companies and entities responsible for supplying Moscow with components for UAVs and providing engineering services.

During the talks, Macron called on Pezeshkian to stop the country’s assistance to the aggressor state. Additionally, the French president his Iranian counterpart that “all must be done to avoid a military escalation” between Israel and Lebanon. His claims followed a strike in the Golan Heights blamed on Tehran-backed Hezbollah.

Macron also urged the Iranian president “to put an end to the worrying escalation of Iran’s nuclear program.” In mid-July, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned that Iran needs one or two weeks to produce enough weapons grade material for a nuclear weapon.

Blinken said the policy of the US is to prevent Tehran from getting a nuclear weapon and that the Biden administration sought ways to stop that from happening through diplomatic means, CNN reported. 

Read more:

• Iran’s new president calls Russia “valued strategic ally and neighbor”
• Why Ukraine’s battle is crucial for dismantling the global “axis of evil”
• ISW: Iran’s missile and drone attack on Israel echoes Russian military tactics used in Ukraine