French Finance Minister Roland Lescure told CNBC that France is willing to support the U.S. in securing the Strait of Hormuz — just not while ships are still coming under attack in the vital maritime passage.
“We are willing to do something to free the Strait of Hormuz, provided that this is not a war situation anymore. Nobody wants to go across the Strait of Hormuz if there’s a risk of missiles or drones going on your head,” he told CNBC’s Charlotte Reed on Tuesday.
“We need the conflict to de-escalate, and then we can imagine securing the Strait of Hormuz ... We know how to do it, but you don’t do that in a war situation. You do that in a pacified situation in which people need to be secure and safe,” he added.
France, the U.K. and Germany are among the European allies who have been criticized by President Donald Trump for failing to assist the U.S. in reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a maritime passage controlled by Iran which is critical for exporting large amounts of oil and gas out of the Middle East.
European countries are reluctant to get involved in the U.S. and Israel’s conflict with Iran, seeing it as a war of choice rather than necessity, and one that has no clear objectives or endpoint.
