At least 21 people have been killed and scores more injured this past week following a wave of unrest in Iran, which Tehran has blamed on the country’s ‘enemies’.
According to Iranian state television, Mr Rouhani told Mr Macron: “We criticise the fact that a terrorist group has a base in France and acts against the people of Iran and encourages violence.
“We expect the French government to act against this terrorist group,”.
Mr Rouhani was referring to the Mujahadin-e Khalq (MEK), an exiled Iranian dissident group based in Paris whose members have repeatedly called for the overthrow of Iran’s clerical leaders.
Mr Macron, for his part, told Mr Rouhani that France was “concerned” by the high number of people killed, injured and arrested during the anti-government demonstrations this past week, before calling for “restraint and appeasement,” the French presidency said in a statement.
The French centrist also urged the Iranian government to respect fundamental freedoms, namely people’s right to protest and freedom of expression.
In addition, both sides agreed to postpone French foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian’s planned visit to Tehran this week in light of the ongoing turmoil.
A statement issued by the French interior ministry echoed the one released by the Elysée Palace.
An interior ministry spokesman said: “French authorities are keeping a close eye on the situation in Iran.
“The right to protest is a fundamental right, as is the free circulation of information.
“France is concerned by the high number of victims and arrests.”
The unrest, which kicked off last Thursday, began as protests against the country’s economic woes, but has quickly taken a political and violent turn: at least 21 people have been killed while scores more injured.
Iran expert Thierry Coville, a researcher at the French Institute for International and Strategic Affairs (IRIS), told France’s Europe 1 radio: “Mr Rouhani needs to give Iranians hope.”
He added government repression could “drown out” Mr Rouhani’s calls for peace and calm.
He said: “Mr Rouhani is caught between a rock and a hard place.”
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, for his part, has accused Iran’s enemies of stoking the unrest.
He said: “In recent days, enemies of Iran used different tools including cash, weapons, politics and intelligence apparatus to create troubles for the Islamic Republic.”
Ayatollah Khamenei did not name the so-called enemies, but Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, accused the United States, Britain and Saudi Arabia of encouraging the uprising.