PARIS: France’s president said on Wednesday he would meet Iranian officials ahead of this weekend’s G7 summit and make proposals to help de-escalate tensions between Washington and Tehran.
“In the coming hours before the G7 I will have meetings with the Iranians to propose things,” Emmanuel Macron told reporters.
Iran’s foreign minister said earlier this week he would meet Macron and Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian in Paris on Friday. Two French diplomats said a joint meeting was likely on Friday, but that it had not been made public due to the sensitivity of the Iran dossier.
France has sought over the summer to play a mediating role as relations between the United States and Iran deteriorate, although there has been little sign of any breakthrough.
With punishing US sanctions squeezing its economy, Iran has said it will gradually reduce its commitments to a 2015 nuclear deal with world powers until the European powers party to the accord — France, Britain and Germany — do more to ensure Tehran benefits financially from the accord.
Macron says will meet Iranians before G7 summit
Macron says will meet Iranians before G7 summit
- Macron will make proposals to help de-escalate tensions between Washington and Tehran
- France has sought to play a mediating role
Syrian authorities arrest member of elite army unit linked to Assad’s brother
- 4th Armoured Division has been accused of human rights violations and drug smuggling during Syria’s civil war
LONDON: Syrian authorities arrested Nidal Ali Suleiman, a former member of an elite military unit during the regime of Bashar Assad, the Interior Ministry announced on Sunday.
Internal security forces in the Al-Ghab area, in coordination with the Anti-Terror Branch in Hama, arrested Suleiman, who is suspected of involvement in fighting in the Hama region. He is also accused of smuggling weapons to the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces and taking part in drug trafficking activities.
The 4th Armoured Division was an elite formation of the Syrian Arab Army established in the 1980s. From 2018 until the collapse of the Assad regime, the unit was commanded by Maher Assad, brother of the former president. The division has been accused of committing human rights violations, and was involved in drug manufacturing and smuggling during the civil war from 2011 to 2024.
Maher Assad is believed to have fled to Russia following the collapse of the regime.
Since December 2024, the new government in Damascus has arrested several Assad-era army officers for alleged crimes committed against Syrians during the conflict.
Last week, authorities in Hama detained three people accused of involvement in an armed group linked to remnants of the Assad regime.
Authorities said they remain committed to protecting citizens, maintaining civil peace, and enforcing the law against anyone who jeopardizes the security and stability of the country, the Syrian Arab News Agency reported.
