France has said it will not send naval vessels to the Strait of Hormuz after US President Donald Trump called on countries reliant on oil from the Gulf to help secure the shipping lane that has been blocked since the start of the US and Israeli attacks on Iran. France has insisted it will not join the war on Iran, maintaining a strictly defensive approach.
Trump said on Sunday that countries that rely heavily on oil from the Gulf should take responsibility for protecting the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20 percent of the world’s seaborne oil trade and 25 percent of its liquefied natural gas pass.
"I’m demanding that these countries come in and protect their own territory because it is their territory," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. "It’s the place from which they get their energy."
'If the Strait of Hormuz were to remain closed, we would face a major crisis'
Although some Iranian vessels and a few from other countries have been able to pass through the Strait, the passage has been largely closed to most tanker traffic since the United States and Israel attacked Iran on 28 February.
“Hopefully China, France, Japan, South Korea, the UK, and others, that are affected by this artificial constraint will send ships to the area so that the Hormuz Strait will no longer be a threat by a nation that has been totally decapitated,” Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform.
The French Foreign Ministry confirmed that France would not send ships to the Strait.
In its response account on X, the ministry said its naval mission is in the Eastern Mediterranean and remains "defensive".
France treads 'a fine line between defensive and offensive’ in Middle East
'Very bad future'
Trump increased pressure on European allies to help protect the Strait, warning that NATO faces a “very bad” future if its members fail to assist the US.
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Sunday that he had spoken with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian about restoring freedom of navigation in the Strait.
"Freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz must be restored as soon as possible," Macron said.
He asked the Iranian president to put an immediate end to attacks against countries in the Middle East, whether directly or through proxies, including in Lebanon and Iraq.
"I reminded him that France is acting within a strictly defensive framework aimed at protecting its interests, its regional partners, and freedom of navigation, and that it is unacceptable for our country to be targeted," Macron said in a post on X.
Vessels in the Strait?
France and Italy have reportedly opened talks with Iranian officials to negotiate a deal to allow their vessels through the Strait, though there has been no official confirmation.
European Union foreign ministers on Monday will discuss strengthening a small naval mission in the Middle East, but diplomats say they are not expected to decide on extending its role to the Strait of Hormuz.
No other countries have agreed to Trump’s request. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer discussed the need to reopen the Strait with Trump, and with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, a Downing Street spokesperson said on Sunday, while South Korea has said it would carefully review Trump's request.
Allies Japan and Australia said they were not planning to send vessels.
Trump told the Financial Times on Sunday he was expecting China to help unblock the Strait before his scheduled meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing at the end of this month and might postpone his trip if it did not provide assistance.
(with newswires)
