PARIS: President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday said France would “never” help secure the Strait of Hormuz “in the current context” of hostilities, rebuffing his US counterpart Donald Trump’s call for help.
Speaking at a defense council meeting, Macron said France could help escort vessels in the strategic waterway, through which around 20 percent of global seaborne oil passes, but only after the situation has calmed down.
Last week, Macron said France and its allies were preparing a “defensive” mission to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which has been effectively shut by Iran in response to the war launched by the United States and Israel on February 28.
The French president stressed at the time that such operations would be possible “after the end of the hottest phase of the conflict.”
“We are not a party to the conflict, and therefore France will never take part in operations to open or liberate the Strait of Hormuz in the current context,” Macron said on Tuesday.
