Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accuses Macron of helping cause the Iran war, tells him not to blame it for French unrest

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday of helping cause the war against Iran and said he could not now blame the conflict for unrest inside France.

“Mr. Macron made his bed when he assured POTUS that he welcomes atrocities against Iranians,” Araghchi wrote on X on October 19. “Too late to blame the war his ilk helped cause.”

Araghchi was responding after Macron said France’s recent unrest was being fueled in part by rising fuel prices linked to the Iran war. He attached a screenshot of a private message Macron sent U.S. President Donald Trump in January that Trump later published on Truth Social.

In that message, whose authenticity was confirmed at the time by Macron’s office, the French president wrote: “We are totally in line on Syria. We can do great things on Iran.” Macron also questioned Trump’s approach to Greenland and proposed a G7 meeting in Paris.

Araghchi interpreted Macron’s message as evidence that the French president had welcomed U.S. actions against Iran. The message itself did not say Macron welcomed attacks or “atrocities” against Iranians; that characterization was Araghchi’s.

“The French people demand wholesale change, including freedom of assembly,” Araghchi wrote. “Listen to the future of France, Mr. President.”

His remarks came amid continuing protests and clashes in France over the cost of living. Macron has said protesters with legitimate grievances should be distinguished from those involved in looting, arson and attacks on public buildings.