DUBAI: French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Saudi Arabia on a surprise trip, last night and met Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Macron said he made the decision earlier in the morning about heading to Saudi Arabia, in part over Houthi militia in Yemen launching a ballistic missile that targeted Riyadh and to discuss issues concerning Iran.
He blamed Iran for the attack, saying that while he still supported Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, a new agreement needed to be reached over Iran’s missile programme.
He condemned the missile attack from Yemen, and raised the prospect of possible sanctions with regard to those activities.
“There are extremely strong concerns about Iran. There are negotiations we need to start on Iran’s ballistic missiles,” he said.
“Like what was done in 2015 for the nuclear activities, it’s necessary to put a framework in place for Iran’s ballistic activities and open a process, with sanctions if needed, of negotiation that would enable (that).”
Macron reaffirmed his intention to go to Iran as part of efforts to talk to all the actors in the region, but warned about decisions that could destabilise the region further.