FM Sa’ar speaks with French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noël Barrot

Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs

FM Sa’ar: “Israel has an interest in Lebanon joining the circle of normalization and peace in the region. The obstacle to this is Hezbollah.”

Type: Press Releases

Topic: Foreign Policy, Terrorism

Secondary topic: Hezbollah, Iran

Publish Date: 18.03.2026

Minister of Foreign Affairs Gideon Sa’ar spoke today (Wednesday, 18 March 2026) with French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noël Barrot and discussed with him the issues of the war in Iran and particularly Lebanon. .

FM Sa’ar: “I spoke with my French counterpart, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noël Barrot, about the war in Iran and particularly about Lebanon. I emphasized that the issue of the Strait of Hormuz is not an American or Israeli issue – it’s a global one. This is naval terrorism that harms the global economy. It began with the Houthis in the Red Sea, and now the Iranian regime itself is carrying it out.

The international community’s de facto acceptance of this grave phenomenon will encourage harm to the freedom of navigation and global economy, and it will spread to additional maritime arenas. This is a dramatic undermining of the world order.

Regarding Lebanon, I stressed that since March 2nd, Israel has been attacked from Lebanese territory more than 2,000 times with missiles and drones. Israel has an interest in Lebanon joining the circle of normalization and peace in the region. The obstacle to this is Hezbollah. The Lebanese government must take meaningful action against Hezbollah on all fronts: weapons, sources of funding and financial infrastructure, legal measures against its leadership, its social and educational infrastructure, economic benefits (licenses), and more.

Israel is committed to defending itself and its citizens against this terror state that has taken over Lebanon and is acting according to the Iranian regime’s interests.”