French President Emmanuel Macron is a man on a mission: to avoid war between the United States and Iran, two countries that have been adversaries for 40 years.

Macron’s ambitions are grand but entirely appropriate given that just a few months ago President Trump was prepared to order a limited strike against Tehran in response to the Iranian downing of a U.S. surveillance drone. If it wasn’t for the president’s wise last-minute decision to pull back and reassess, Washington and Tehran could have very well gone down a road toward an all-out conflict neither country truly wanted.