"It doesn't move me": Emmanuel Macron responds to criticism from Donald Trump who accuses him of "never understanding anything"

"It doesn't bother me." Asked this Tuesday, June 17, about Donald Trump 's criticism of him, Emmanuel Macron described it as "incidental." "It doesn't bother me because I know him and we have a long-term relationship," he added, on the sidelines of a G7 meeting in Canada.

"He had extremely friendly words, but he wanted to add ambiguity to his position, so he said he was not going to discuss a ceasefire ( in Iran , editor's note)," explained the French head of state.

On Monday, his American counterpart left the Canadian G7 summit early, leaving the urgency of his agenda shrouded in mystery. A departure that, according to Emmanuel Macron, was linked to "an offer made (to the United States) of a meeting and exchange" with the Iranians amid an imminent ceasefire.

Except that Donald Trump denied it, criticizing his counterpart: "False! He has no idea why I'm now on my way to Washington, but it certainly has nothing to do with a ceasefire. It's much bigger than that." He added:

"Whether he wants to or not, Emmanuel never understands anything."

"In the serious moment we are living through, I believe my role is not to comment on things here and there. It is to explain what we want, what we can do that is useful, and to reiterate our priorities," Emmanuel Macron added on Tuesday.

He thus wished to reiterate his "clear" positions on the situation in the Middle East: "an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the release of all hostages, the resumption of humanitarian aid, the resumption of a political process which is the only future for Gaza", as well as "a ceasefire as soon as possible in Iran and a resumption of discussions".

For his part, Donald Trump said he wanted a "real end" to the conflict between Iran and Israel, not just a ceasefire. He also stated that the United States does not intend to kill Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, "at this time."

Faced with these sometimes confusing signals, speculation is rife about a possible direct US military engagement in the Middle East. The US government, however, has assured that the posture of American forces in the region remains "defensive." "I am not responsible for the US administration's changes of mind," Emmanuel Macron affirmed.

According to him, a regime change in Iran through war will mean "chaos."

On Tuesday, on the sidelines of the G7, the French president said that "we need the United States to bring everyone back to the negotiating table" in the conflict between Iran and Israel.

The two enemy countries exchanged missile fire and air strikes on Tuesday on the fifth day of their worst military confrontation, triggered by an Israeli offensive targeting strategic Iranian sites.

Israel claimed to have targeted military sites in Iran in new airstrikes, to which Tehran responded with missile strikes. Since Friday, Israeli aircraft have targeted hundreds of military and nuclear sites and killed several senior Iranian officials . Civilians have also been killed in both countries in strikes that have hit urban areas and destroyed buildings.