PARIS, France (AFP) — French President Emmanuel Macron told an emergency defence council he chaired late Saturday that diplomacy must prevail to calm the conflict pitting the United States (US) and Israel against Iran.

He also emphasised that “France was neither warned of nor involved in” the US-Israeli strikes on Iran, “just like all the other countries in the region and our allies”.

“I hope we can take all necessary initiatives so that diplomacy prevails,” he said at the defence council meeting held at the Elysee Palace.

“Nobody can think that the issues of Iran’s nuclear programme, ballistic (missile) activities, regional destabilisation efforts can be simply solved with strikes,” he said.

His comments, and the defence council meeting, followed a joint call he had earlier Saturday with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz that resulted in a statement condemning Iran for its retaliatory attacks on Gulf nations.

Britain, France and Germany — all NATO member countries — said in their statement “we did not participate in these strikes”.