French President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday that his country would not consider helping to secure the Strait of Hormuz from Iranian influence in the “current context.”
The United States has pressed France and other NATO members to help facilitate the free flow of oil tankers and other vessels through the tiny, immensely strategic waterway leading to the Persian Gulf. Iran holds critical sway over the strait, and sought to close it as a retaliatory measure following the joint U.S.-Israeli attack on Tehran, a move that provoked the largest disruption to the global energy supply in history.
Macron pushed back this week, telling officials that because Paris is not part of the conflict, “therefore France will never take part in operations to open or liberate the Strait of Hormuz in the current context.”
The positioning from Paris comes after Macron suggested last week that French warships being deployed to the Middle East could join an international force seeking to help reopen the strait and escort vessels safely through the waterway. During those March 9 remarks in Cyprus, Macron said the aid would be a possibility only once the “most intense phase” of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran has concluded.
For days, President Donald Trump mounted a pressure campaign on allies to help the U.S. in securing the Strait of Hormuz for global energy security purposes. But the president issued a strongly worded statement Tuesday morning, shaming NATO members for being reluctant to ramp up involvement in the war against Iran and saying he is no longer seeking their help.
“I always considered NATO, where we spend Hundreds of Billions of Dollars per year protecting these same Countries, to be a one-way street — We will protect them, but they will do nothing for us, in particular, in a time of need,” Trump posted.
“Because of the fact that we have had such Military Success, we no longer ‘need,’ or desire, the NATO Countries’ assistance — WE NEVER DID! … In fact, speaking as President of the United States of America, by far the Most Powerful Country Anywhere in the World, WE DO NOT NEED THE HELP OF ANYONE!” Trump added.
TRUMP TALKS WITH STARMER AS HE TRIES TO LURE COUNTRIES TO HELP REOPEN STRAIT OF HORMUZ
Trump’s Truth Social post came hours after he said that he had spoken with Macron about helping with the Strait of Hormuz. At the time, Trump gave Macron’s response an eight on a scale of zero to 10.
“But it’s France. We don’t expect perfect,” the president said. “I think he’s going to help.”
