Emmanuel Macron said after a call with the Group of Seven leaders that no one knows what Donald Trump wants from the war with Iran. In a statement, the French President stated, “It will be up to the president of the United States to clarify both his final objectives and the pace he intends to give to the operations,” Macron said, according to Axios.
His statement highlighted the allies’ uncertainty about the U.S. stance as fighting with Iran entered its second week. Macron made this remark after a discussion on the war and its shockwaves through global energy markets.
Trump has made contradictory statements about the duration of the conflict. On Wednesday, he told Axios that the war would end “soon” because there was “practically nothing left” to target in Iran. Later, he mentioned at a rally in Kentucky that the United States had already won, but he added that Washington could not “leave early” and needed to “finish the job.”
🇺🇸🇮🇷 – President Trump in Kentucky:
“We don’t want to leave early. We gotta finish the job right? Over the past 11 days our military has virtually destroyed Iran..”
Crowd: Cheers….
Cc @TuckerCarlson @megynkelly pic.twitter.com/5U5MWpI8mL
— Belaaz News (@TheBelaaz) March 11, 2026
Axios reported that two people familiar with the G7 call described Trump as unclear and noncommittal. This left some participants feeling he wanted a way out, while others thought he was ready to continue. The same report noted that Macron’s public statement reflected what several leaders expressed privately after the call.
The war began on February 28 when the United States and Israel attacked Iran. Trump stated at the start that the campaign had four main goals: destroy Iran’s navy, weaken its ballistic missile capability, push a nuclear weapon out of reach, and end Iranian support for proxy groups in the region. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that those goals have not changed.
However, several of those objectives remain unfinished. Axios reported that although Iran’s navy and missile infrastructure have endured heavy damage, the United States and Israel have not secured Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium, and a fortified underground site near Natanz known as Pickaxe Mountain has not been struck.
French President Macron on Iran:
France was neither informed nor involved, nor were the countries of the region or our allies. pic.twitter.com/daJUg6Xm28
— Clash Report (@clashreport) February 28, 2026
The report also indicated that Washington and Israel do not fully agree on what victory would look like, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu considering regime change a key part of the outcome.
As leaders discussed the direction of the war, the conflict expanded. Reuters reported Thursday that Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, stated Iran would keep fighting and would maintain the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. He said Iran would use the blockade as leverage and urged neighboring countries to shut down U.S. bases on their land.
Reuters also reported that the war has resulted in around 2,000 deaths and caused what the International Energy Agency called the largest disruption to global energy supplies in history. Oil prices rose back above $100 a barrel on Thursday, and commercial shipping in and around the Gulf faced renewed attacks.
G7 leaders have been considering how to address the spike in energy prices, and a Reuters report earlier this week mentioned that the bloc was discussing measures including possible ship escorts in the Persian Gulf.
The uncertainty that Macron referred to seems linked not only to the military situation but also to diplomacy. Axios reported that there is no direct communication between Washington and Tehran and that even if Trump chooses to scale back, Iranian attacks on U.S. forces and Gulf states might continue. One senior Arab official involved in mediation efforts told the outlet, “It is very easy to start a war but very hard to finish it.”
Iran is strategically fighting an economic war, closing the Strait of Hormuz and targeting energy infrastructure. On the other hand, the US has bombed Iran’s military infrastructure, fearing that attacks on its oil hub will destabilize the global economy further.
