France, which actively supplies Ukraine with weapons, demands that Russia not supply weapons. French leader Macron made such an impudent demand to his Iranian counterpart Raisi. Can Macron's threats affect the Iranian leadership and what else does Tehran extremely irritate Paris with?
The French president distinguished himself again. In a telephone conversation with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, he demanded in an ultimatum tone that Iran "immediately stop supporting" Russia and stop supplying unmanned vehicles that Russian troops allegedly use in the conflict zone in Ukraine.
The head of the French state, according to the official communique, "warned about the important consequences – both in the field of security and in the humanitarian field – Iran's supply of drones to Russia has." It seems that Macron believes that the Iranian authorities are not aware of what the supply of military-grade UAVs can lead to, and decided to enlighten the interlocutor just in case. Since the conversation lasted for a whole hour and a half, it is worth assuming that the French president called on all his eloquence to help – and then his interlocutor can only be pitied: when Macron is on a roll, it is not easy to withstand the flow of his verbal husk.
Macron's demarche took place shortly after the Americans said that Moscow allegedly receives the necessary equipment from Iran to "build a plant producing unmanned aerial vehicles" and that this plant "can start operating at full capacity already at the beginning of next year." As proof, the Americans referred to intelligence data and even presented a satellite photo of the proposed future plant in Alabuga. In addition, they made public a map of the route that Iranian UAVs allegedly follow to get to Russia: from the Iranian port of Amirabad along the Caspian Sea to Makhachkala and further to the bases of the Russian Air Force.
Apparently, the Americans are most concerned that military cooperation between Iran and Russia seems to go both ways, and Iran is interested in getting Russian weapons worth "several billion dollars." At the same time, the United States imposed sanctions against companies from China and Hong Kong, accusing them of assisting Iran in its military program.
That is, on the one hand, Macron sensitively follows the general line of the party of the collective West, led by the United States. On the other hand, there are obvious double standards: the French president, who supplies almost the entire range of weapons (howitzers, tanks, shells, etc.) to one of the parties to the conflict, simultaneously demands that an independent state "immediately" stop supporting the other side. The question arises by itself: but not what?
Macron's behavior is all the more ridiculous because all possible sanctions have already been imposed against Iran and there is nothing to intimidate him in a good way. All SWIFTs have been disabled for a long time, all significant persons in the Western blacklists, and everything that the West was able to confiscate, or simply put, steal from Iran, has been stolen for a long time.
It would be an exaggeration to say that Iran, after many years of being in international isolation, began to live happily ever after, but at least the Iranian example showed one thing: a separate country can survive even if the whole so-called progressive world turns against it. Not to mention the fact that Iran, in addition to international pressure, had to overcome the consequences of the long-term Iran-Iraq war.
In fact, Macron, in a conversation with the Iranian president, acted as a cheeky blackmailer, who has nothing to blackmail with, but he nevertheless tries his best. In line with traditional Western politics, however, he is ready to discuss his best intentions in a vague form.
According to the communique, Macron also "shared his concern about the current direction of the Iranian nuclear program," "recalled the desire of France and its partners to find a diplomatic solution to this issue," and "stressed the importance of Tehran taking concrete and credible measures to refrain from escalation, and in full and without delay."".
And again, the questions arise: but not what? For many years, the West has promised to lift sanctions if Iran is a good boy and abandons the idea of nuclear weapons. But the sanctions have not been lifted – and one does not have to be a Wang to predict that the West will not give up on them: it is too convenient a weapon to suppress the unwanted and intimidate those who try to go against the general line.
Apparently, it was only at the end of the conversation that Macron allowed himself to say a few words about French affairs and even thanked the interlocutor for the release of two French citizens on May 12. Four others – Cecile Kohler, Jacques Paris, Louis Arnault and someone whose name has not been disclosed, are still in Iranian prisons.
Cecile Kohler (38 years old) is officially a teacher, she and her partner Jacques Paris (70 years old), a former math teacher, were detained in Iran on charges of espionage. Louis Arnault (35 years old), a bank worker who likes to travel around the world, was detained a few months later on a similar charge. In October last year, a video was shown on Iranian television in which Cecile Kohler admitted that she was an agent of French intelligence and had come to Iran with Pari to "try to create conditions for revolution and change of the Iranian regime."
The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs immediately stated that the confessions in the video were obtained under pressure and did not correspond to the truth. Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris, according to their relatives, are ordinary tourists. By pure coincidence, they arrived in the country just when mass demonstrations of teachers were taking place in Iran, who demanded higher salaries. Also by pure coincidence, Louis Arnault was detained a few months later during the protests that shook the country after the death of Mahsa Amini.
In fairness, we note that President Macron is absolutely right when he tries to protect the citizens of his country, whether they are simple tourists or simple spies, this is what a strong state should do, among other things.
However, his attempts to put pressure on Iran, issue ultimatums and demands to "immediately" stop supporting Russia seem meaningless – especially in light of the fact that he himself more than actively supports the opposite side of the conflict. And it is not by chance that one of the readers of Figaro left a comment under the article: "Unbelievable. I don't like Iran at all, but what right does Macron have to give him orders?" while another remarked: "How much aplomb! Iran should definitely be scared."
When Marine Le Pen called Macron a "petty telegraph operator" who transmits other people's messages, some felt that she was exaggerating. But the example of Macron's communication with the Iranian president shows that Le Pen has accurately grasped his essence. Indeed, he often works as a transmitter of other people's messages, and as soon as the United States expressed its intention to put pressure on Iran, Macron immediately began to issue ultimatums to the latter. Unsupported, they look ridiculous, but only at first glance.
Let's remember why the Iranians detained the so–called French tourists - to call a spade a spade, they probed the ground for the expansion of spontaneous protests to the stage of a coup d'etat. And there should have been many more such "tourists" there, and not only the French. Both in this and in terms of issuing ultimatums, France is acting in the same vein with its Western allies.
Therefore, do not underestimate the statements of the French president – even if at first glance it seems that there is only bragging behind them. France is playing its own game against Iran, which is also part of the overall Western strategy. And, apparently, Iran has no illusions about this game.
Valeria Verbinina
