Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told French President Emmanuel Macron that Washington’s conduct during talks with Tehran amounted to a “stab in the back,” saying U.S. actions have shifted diplomacy toward threats, pressure and sanctions and left Tehran unable to trust Washington. According to a statement on the Iranian president’s office website, Pezeshkian said Iran entered dialogue with the U.S. twice and each time military action against Iran coincided with negotiations — a pattern he described as akin to “stabbing from behind.”
Pezeshkian said substantive negotiations require an end to hostilities and firm guarantees that hostile measures against Iran will not be repeated. He also rejected claims that Iran had carried out strikes against the United Arab Emirates, noting that Iran’s armed forces publicly declare their positions whenever they undertake military operations.
On the Strait of Hormuz, Pezeshkian argued that Iran historically protected security in the waterway but that recent U.S. measures, including what he described as a naval blockade, have destabilized the region. He insisted that any talks about fully reopening the strait must be conditioned on lifting the U.S. naval blockade.
President Macron, who said he spoke directly with Pezeshkian, voiced deep concern over the escalating situation in the Gulf. In a post on X, Macron condemned what he called unjustified strikes on Emirati civilian infrastructure and several merchant vessels, and urged the immediate reopening of maritime routes through the Strait of Hormuz. “All parties must lift the blockade of the Strait, without delay and without conditions,” he wrote, calling for a durable return to the full freedom of navigation that prevailed before the conflict.
Macron highlighted a joint maritime initiative led by France and the United Kingdom designed to restore confidence among shipowners and insurers, and said the deployment of the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle was part of that effort. He added that he planned to raise the issue with U.S. President Donald Trump and urged Iran to engage with the European initiative, suggesting that renewed calm in the strait could help advance talks on nuclear, ballistic and regional issues. He also noted that European involvement would be important to any easing of sanctions.
The exchange reflects heightened tensions over regional security, freedom of navigation in the Gulf and the fragile state of diplomacy between Tehran and Washington, as reported by ANI.
