French President Emmanuel Macron, who on Friday defended Israel's right to protect itself, spoke by phone to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu following a spike in diplomatic tensions, the Elysee said.

President Emmanuel Macron of France said the exchange of strikes between Israel and Iran had made it impossible.

The military exchanges worsened between Israel and Iran overnight on Monday as strikes hit residential areas, killing and wounding civilians on both sides.

French President Emmanuel Macron has called on his Iranian counterpart, Masoud Pezeshkian, to release two French nationals, Cécile Kohler and Jacques

A series of exchanges marked a new low point in the relationship between France and Israel, which accused the French president of “a crusade against the Jewish state.”

Tehran has asked Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Oman to press U.S. President Donald Trump to use his influence on Israel to agree to an immediate ceasefire with Iran in return for Iranian flexibility in nuclear negotiations,