French President Emmanuel Macron responded on Tuesday, June 17, during the second day of the G7 summit in Kananaskis, Canada, to the biting criticism directed at him the previous day by US President Donald Trump over a possible ceasefire between Israel and Iran. "There are leaders who change their minds; that is not my case," said Macron. "The ceasefire, it was mainly Trump who spoke about it," he added, downplaying his counterpart's remark. "A twist, not the first, nor the last," he explained, shortly before the G7 summit wrapped up.

After abruptly leaving the summit on Monday, the American president lashed out at his French counterpart on his Truth Social network: "Publicity seeking President Emmanuel Macron, of France, mistakenly said that I left the G7 Summit, in Canada, to go back to D.C. to work on a 'cease fire' between Israel and Iran. Wrong! (...) Whether purposely or not, Emmanuel always gets it wrong."

The exchange went well beyond the personal relationship between the two leaders, who frequently speak by phone despite their diplomatic, ideological and economic differences. Ultimately, it revealed a widening rift among Western allies over Israel's offensive in Iran, as the United States increasingly signalled toward a direct involvement in the war, including operational support to bomb underground nuclear facilities such as Fordo, and even support for regime change. Back in Washington, President Trump called for Iran's "unconditional surrender" and threatened Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei.

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