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French Foreign Minister: All Our Acts in Middle East Are Aimed at Reducing Tensions

French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne holds a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Paris, France, April 2, 2024. (Reuters)
French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne holds a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Paris, France, April 2, 2024. (Reuters)
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French Foreign Minister: All Our Acts in Middle East Are Aimed at Reducing Tensions

French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne holds a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Paris, France, April 2, 2024. (Reuters)
French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne holds a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Paris, France, April 2, 2024. (Reuters)

All of France's actions in the Middle East are aimed at reducing tensions in the region, said French Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Sejourne on Tuesday, as he held a joint news conference with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Sejourne declined to address the topic of the airstrike earlier this week on the Iranian embassy compound in Syria.

Iran has blamed Israel for the attack, while Israel has not declared responsibility for it.

Sejourne said the danger of an escalation in regional violence in the Middle East was the responsibility of certain actors in Syria, Lebanon and Yemen.

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US Defers Removal of Some Lebanese, Citing Israel-Hezbollah Tensions

Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
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US Defers Removal of Some Lebanese, Citing Israel-Hezbollah Tensions

Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)

The United States is deferring the removal of certain Lebanese citizens from the country, President Joe Biden said on Friday, citing humanitarian conditions in southern Lebanon amid tensions between Israel and Hezbollah.

The deferred designation, which lasts 18 months, allows Lebanese citizens to remain in the country with the right to work, according to a memorandum Biden sent to the Department of Homeland Security.

"Humanitarian conditions in southern Lebanon have significantly deteriorated due to tensions between Hezbollah and Israel," Biden said in the memo.

"While I remain focused on de-escalating the situation and improving humanitarian conditions, many civilians remain in danger; therefore, I am directing the deferral of removal of certain Lebanese nationals who are present in the United States."

Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah have been trading fire since Hezbollah announced a "support front" with Palestinians shortly after its ally Hamas attacked southern Israeli border communities on Oct. 7, triggering Israel's military assault in Gaza.

The fighting in Lebanon has killed more than 100 civilians and more than 300 Hezbollah fighters, according to a Reuters tally, and led to levels of destruction in Lebanese border towns and villages not seen since the 2006 Israel-Lebanon war.

On the Israeli side, 10 Israeli civilians, a foreign agricultural worker and 20 Israeli soldiers have been killed. Tens of thousands have been evacuated from both sides of the border.