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French president cautions that military operations have ‘never’ succeeded in 20 years of Western intervention, as civilian death toll in Iran passes 1,300 amid widening crisis.

By The South Asia Times

PARIS - French President Emmanuel Macron has delivered a sharp rebuke to US military policy toward Iran, declaring that bombing campaigns will “never” resolve the crisis and warning that Western interventions in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya offer a “stark lesson in failure.”

Speaking to reporters, Macron openly disagreed with the approach of US President Donald Trump, even as he acknowledged deep disagreements with Tehran on multiple issues.

“I disagree with Iran on a lot of topics,” Macron said. “But I don’t believe that we will fix the situation just by bombings or by military ops.”

The French leader then invoked two decades of Western military intervention across the Muslim world to underscore his point.

“Look at what happened with this type of operation in Iraq, in Afghanistan, in Libya,” Macron said, his tone increasingly emphatic. “We never delivered. Never. Even after 20 years.”

His comments mark one of the most significant public fractures between two key NATO allies since the current escalation of US-Iran hostilities began. France has historically taken a more diplomatic approach to Tehran, playing a central role in negotiating the 2015 nuclear deal (JCPOA) alongside Germany and the United Kingdom.

Macron offered an alternative framework to Washington’s military-first posture, urging respect for the will of the Iranian people themselves.

“You must respect the sovereignty of people,” he said. “If people want to change their regime, they can do it. If they want to react, they can do it.”

The statement implicitly rejects the Trump administration’s stated goal of regime change through military pressure -- an objective Trump himself has hinted at in recent speeches, including his vow to bomb Iran “back to the stone age.”

Macron’s intervention comes as civilian casualties in Iran mount dramatically from ongoing US and Israeli strikes. According to figures compiled from Iranian state media and international humanitarian organizations, at least 1,340 civilians have been killed since the current bombing campaign intensified last month. Among them are more than 170 children, who died in a single strike on a school in a residential area, an attack that Iranian officials have labeled a war crime.

- ‘Trump Energy Crisis’ Felt Worldwide

Beyond the human toll, the military campaign has inflicted severe damage on Iran’s energy infrastructure. US and allied strikes have targeted oil refineries, natural gas facilities, and power plants across the country, according to satellite imagery analyzed by open-source intelligence groups.

The resulting disruption has rippled through global energy markets. Iran, a major oil and gas producer, has seen its exports collapse. In response, crude oil prices have surged past $130 per barrel, the highest level since the 2008 financial crisis, with gasoline and heating fuel prices spiking in Europe, Asia, and the Americas.

Economists have begun referring to the phenomenon as the “Trump energy crisis,” noting that the price shock is exacerbating already-high inflation in many countries. The Biden administration had previously released oil from the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve to stabilize markets, but those reserves are now at their lowest levels in four decades.

Macron’s public break with Trump underscores a growing divide between Washington and its European allies. While the United Kingdom has provided some logistical support to US operations, both Germany and France have refused to participate in or facilitate strikes on Iranian soil.

Italy and Spain have denied US requests to use their airbases for offensive operations against Iran. Austria has rejected US overflight requests, citing its constitutional neutrality. Turkey, a NATO member, has also refused to grant overflight rights.

The diplomatic isolation of the United States on the issue was further underscored this week when Pakistan announced that both Washington and Tehran had expressed confidence in Islamabad’s ability to host direct peace talks. China has also joined Pakistan in proposing a five-point peace plan calling for “immediate cessation of hostilities.”

Macron’s historical comparisons resonated deeply with foreign policy analysts, many of whom noted that the three conflicts he cited—Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya -- ended in chaotic withdrawals, humanitarian catastrophes, or ongoing civil wars.

In Iraq, the 2003 US-led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein but unleashed years of sectarian bloodshed, paved the way for the rise of ISIS, and left an estimated 300,000 civilians dead. US forces withdrew in 2011, only to return in 2014 to combat ISIS, and remain in the country today.

In Afghanistan, two decades of US and allied military presence ended with the chaotic Taliban takeover of Kabul in August 2021, as Western forces withdrew under fire. More than 46,000 Afghan civilians were killed during the war, according to Brown University’s Costs of War Project.

In Libya, the 2011 NATO-led intervention that helped overthrow Muammar Gaddafi plunged the country into a decade of civil war, leaving it divided between rival governments and a hub for human trafficking and militant groups.

As the civilian death toll in Iran continues to rise and global energy markets convulse, Macron’s warning carries increasing weight. But whether the Trump administration will heed the advice of one of its oldest allies remains deeply uncertain.

“We never delivered. Never,” Macron said. “Even after 20 years.”