France’s president has joined Spain in condemning US and Israeli strikes on Iran, branding them illegal.
In a televised address on Tuesday evening, Emmanuel Macron declared the attacks were ‘outside the bounds of international law.’
He is the second Western leader to question the legality of the conflict after Spain’s Pedro Sanchez warned that strikes from the US and Israel risked bringing about a ‘more uncertain and hostile international order.’
The French leader also said he had ordered his country’s nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and fleet to the Mediterranean and a frigate to Cyprus to ramp up military support in the region.
He added that Rafale fighter jets, air defence systems and airborne radar systems have been deployed over the Middle East.
‘We will continue this effort as much as necessary,’ he added.
The French president also cited a strike on a British air force base in Cyprus on Monday, saying: ‘This requires our support. That is why I have decided to send additional air-defence assets there as well, along with a French frigate, the Languedoc.
Macron also insisted that all his actions were ‘strictly defensive in nature’ and intended to protect allies and restore peace.
France, along with Germany and the UK are pushing for a ceasefire and has renewed diplomatic negotiations in the region, he added.
Macron’s speech comes after Spain’s Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said his country would not allow the US to use jointly operated bases in southern Spain in any strikes not covered by the United Nations’ charter.
The move came following Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s warning that strikes on Iran risked bringing about a ‘more uncertain and hostile international order.’
Trump has since threatened to end trade with Spain, telling reporters in Washington last night: ‘We’re going to cut off all trade with Spain.’
‘We don’t want anything to do with Spain.’
The US president said that, despite Spain’s refusal, we could use their base if we want. We could just fly in and use it. Nobody’s going to tell us not to use it, but we don’t have to.’
It is unclear how Trump would cut off trade with Spain, given that Spain is under the umbrella of the European Union. The EU negotiates trade deals on behalf of all 27 member countries.
‘If the US administration wishes to review the trade agreement, it must do so respecting the autonomy of private companies, international law, and bilateral agreements between the European Union and the United States,’ a spokesperson from Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s office said Tuesday.
Macron’s address also came as Trump welcomed Germany’s Friedrich Merz to the White House last night.
Trump praised Germany for ‘helping out’ by allowing the US to access certain bases, with Merz saying his government and Trump shared a desire to topple Iran’s current regime.
The American president also lambasted British Prime Minister Keir Starmer over his reluctance to join the US-Israeli strikes on Iran.
‘This is not Winston Churchill that we’re dealing with,’ Trump said.
The dispute is roiling a relationship that Starmer worked hard to forge, and further straining trans-Atlantic ties frayed by Trump’s ‘America first’ foreign policy and transactional approach to international relations.
‘This was the most solid relationship of all. And now we have very strong relationships with other countries in Europe,’ Trump told British tabloid The Sun in an interview published Tuesday.
‘I mean, France has been great. They’ve all been great,’ Trump said. ‘The U.K. has been much different from others.’
‘It’s very sad to see that the relationship is obviously not what it was,’ he said.
Meanwhile, Merz came under fire for failing to stick up for Spain and Britain after Trump’s rants.
