France will be "intractable" and will remain committed to ensuring that Iran never acquires nuclear weapons, Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday on the first day of his visit to Israel, warning against any military escalation in the region.
"We will be intractable in nuclear matters," the French head of state declared in Jerusalem during a press statement alongside his Israeli counterpart, Reuven Rivlin. "In the current context, France will remain attached to the fact that Iran never acquires nuclear weapons but to that we also avoid any military escalation in the region, whatever it is," he said. added.
Netanyahu wants to "stop evil"
Israel this week is trying to persuade the United States, but especially Russia and France, to use their influence in the Middle East to curb that of Iran, presented as the new threat against the Jews, 75 years later The Shoah. Forty foreign leaders began to flock to Jerusalem for commemorations on Thursday of the liberation of the Nazi camp at Auschwitz, with the program combating anti-Semitism in the West and the Iranian dossier.
For the Israeli Prime Minister, the Nazi threat of yesteryear today has another name: that of Iran, because the Islamic Republic threatens, by its nuclear and ballistic program he says, the very existence of the State Hebrew. "A third of the Jews went up in flames (in the Nazi camps) and there was nothing we could do about it. After the Holocaust, the State of Israel was established, but attempts to destroy the Jewish people did not succeed. Iran has declared every day that it wants to wipe Israel from the face of the Earth, "Benjamin Netanyahu said this week. "The first lesson from Auschwitz is this: we must stop evil as soon as it begins. However, Iran is a very bad thing (...) which can still grow with nuclear weapons," he said. it added in a video uploaded to YouTube.
Israel opposes Iran's 2015 nuclear deal and calls on Europeans to support the United States, which pulled out in May 2018 before re-establishing sanctions against Tehran and killing General Qassem Soleimani in early January , causing a shock wave. The Iranian question was on the menu of the meeting Wednesday between Emmanuel Macron and Benjamin Netanyahu, who urges Paris to impose sanctions on Tehran like the United States, whose vice-president is expected Thursday in Jerusalem. The French president also met with Benny Gantz, Benjamin Netanyahu's rival in the legislative elections in March.
Strengthening Russian influence in Syria
Paris has paved the way for the imposition of other sanctions against Iran by activating, with London and Berlin, the dispute settlement procedure provided for in the event of violation of the commitments of the Vienna agreement. This move was relatively well received in Israel - Benny Gantz thanked Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday. But Israeli analysts doubt Benjamin Netanyahu's ability to convince Europeans, and even less Russia, close to Tehran, to espouse the American position of "maximum pressure" on Iran.
Failing to convince Russians and French, Benjamin Netanyahu can however discuss with them the question of Iran's influence in Syria, where Russia plays a key role, and in Lebanon, where France, the former mandatory power, remains influential . In recent years, pro-Iranian militias have increased the number of shots or attempted attacks from Syria against Israel, which responded with air strikes, notably on Damascus.
After the assassination of Qassem Soleimani, Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose troops have been fighting with the Syrian forces since 2015, paid a surprise visit to Damascus, his first since the start of the war in Syria. "Perhaps it was an attempt to strengthen the Russian position in this country at the expense of Iran", another great ally of Damascus, advance Itamar Rabinovitch, former negotiator with Syria, now emeritus professor at the University from Tel Aviv. Israel specifically wants to see Russia curb Iran's influence in Syria, analysts say.
"But the Russians are not going to make concessions to Israel and the United States without obtaining something in return", according to Itamar Rabinovitch, who does not expect major upheavals in Jerusalem because the United States is represented by the vice-president and not the president. What to offer? "I am not convinced that Israel has anything particular to give, apart from intelligence on specific points," notes Menahem Merhavy, lecturer at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
France wants to "help" Lebanon
There is also Lebanon, northern neighbor of Israel, under influence partly Iranian with the Shiite movement Hezbollah, a subject besides raised in Jerusalem by Emmanuel Macron. In recent months, the Israeli military has accused Hezbollah of seeking to convert rockets into precision missiles, with the help of Iran. These missiles would be more difficult to counter than rockets by the Israeli defense system and could cause significant damage, the military said.
"If Hassan Nasrallah (head of Hezbollah) understands that it is too risky for him to go ahead with this project, he will stop it," said an Israeli security source. In Israel, analysts expect France to intervene to try to find a way out of the current Lebanese political and economic crisis that would not strengthen Hezbollah.
"We will do everything, in the deep crisis they are going through, to help our Lebanese friends," said Emmanuel Macron in Jerusalem, while calling to remain "vigilant" in the face of Hezbollah which "threatens" Israel.
With AFP
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