French President Emmanuel Macron said, on Monday, that Iran constitutes the “major strategic and security challenge” in the Middle East and will be a priority issue in the dialogue he will hold with the next US administration during the era of Donald Trump.

Macron said in a speech he delivered during the annual meeting of French ambassadors, “Iran is the main strategic and security challenge to France, the Europeans, the entire region, and much beyond that,” warning that “the acceleration of its nuclear program is leading us to the brink of estrangement.”

He considered that the Iranian nuclear program was approaching the point of no return, adding that France would need to hold a strategic discussion regarding Tehran with the next US administration led by Donald Trump.

Macron said leaders will have to ask themselves whether they should launch a mechanism to restore sanctions on Iran before October 2025.

Regarding the Syrian issue, Macron called for “looking at regime change in Syria without naivety,” promising not to abandon Kurdish fighters allied with the West.

Macron said that France will accompany the transitional process “for a long time” in order to establish “a free, sovereign Syria that respects its ethnic, political and sectarian pluralism,” pledging to remain “loyal” to “freedom fighters like the Kurds” who are confronting terrorism, especially ISIS.< /p>

Regarding Donald Trump’s return to the White House, Macron said that the next US president “knows that France is a strong ally of his, an ally that does not underestimate him” and has a “realistic ambition” regarding the transatlantic relationship, two weeks before the Republican returns to the White House. .

Macron said, "Between 2016 and 2020, France worked well with President Trump," adding: "If we decide to be weak and defeatist, the chances are slim that we will gain the respect of the United States of America during the Trump era." He added, "It is up to us to know how to cooperate with the choice made by the American people."

As for the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, Macron said that “there is no quick and easy solution” to this conflict, considering that the Ukrainians must “engage in realistic talks about the territories” because they are “the only ones capable of doing so” in search of a settlement to the conflict. . Macron said, "The United States of America must help us change the nature of the situation and persuade Russia to sit at the negotiating table," while the Europeans must "find security guarantees" for Ukraine, considering that this is their "responsibility as the first resistance."

Macron also believed that the Europeans must "move faster and stronger" to strengthen their defense industries in the face of escalating threats. Macron said, "The issue lies in knowing whether the Europeans want to produce during the next twenty years what they will need for their security or not," warning that "if we rely on the industrial and technological base of American defense, then we will be faced with difficult dilemmas and wrong strategic dependencies."< /p>