French President Emmanuel Macron held talks late Thursday with Saudi Arabia’s powerful crown prince as tensions between Tehran and Riyadh soar over crises in Yemen and Lebanon.

Macron, on his debut visit to the Middle East, flew in from a tour of the United Arab Emirates for his first face-to-face talks with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who recently launched a massive anti-graft crackdown on the kingdom’s elite.

The visit comes at a time of growing friction between the Sunni kingdom and Shiite Iran, which are pitted on opposite sides in Lebanon and Yemen.

“I’ve heard some very hard positions” taken by Saudi Arabia against Iran, Macron told a news conference in Dubai before his visit, adding it was important to speak to all sides and that France had a role in making peace.

In the wake of a failed missile attack against Riyadh airport on Saturday, which was claimed by Iran-backed Huthi rebels in Yemen, the kingdom has accused Tehran of “direct aggression”.

Iran vehemently dismissed the charge that it supplied missiles to the Huthis and warned Saudi Arabia of its “might”, prompting fresh acrimony between the regional heavyweights.

“The French president condemned the Huthi missile attack on Riyadh, stressing France’s stand and solidarity with the Kingdom,” the state-run Saudi Press Agency said.

The two leaders “also discussed the latest developments in the Middle East and their efforts for security and stability in the region, including joint coordination in the fight against terrorism,” it added.

On Iran, Macron has repeatedly said that he wanted to keep the landmark 2015 nuclear deal despite opposition from US President Donald Trump.

US pressure to renegotiate the Iran nuclear deal could push Tehran into deciding to build its own nuclear weapons, Macron told Time magazine in an interview published Thursday.