French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday that a military operation to liberate the Strait of Hormuz is “unrealistic”, expressing frustration at US President Donald Trump’s alternating statements on the Iran war.
“There are those who advocate for the liberation of the Strait of Hormuz by force through a military operation, a position sometimes expressed by the United States,” Macron said in South Korea.
“I say sometimes because it has varied, it is never the option we have chosen and we consider it unrealistic,” he said.
“It is unrealistic because it would take an inordinate amount of time and would expose anyone crossing the strait to coastal threats from the (Iranian) Revolutionary Guards, who possess significant resources, as well as ballistic missiles, (and) a host of other risks.”
The Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route for oil, has been virtually paralysed for weeks by the Middle East war.
Macron, who has worked with European and other allies to build a coalition to guarantee free passage through Hormuz once hostilities have stopped, said this could only be done by talking to Iran.
“What we say from the beginning is that this strait must be reopened because it is strategic for energy flows, fertilisers and international trade, but that it can only be done in consultation with Iran,” he said.
“So, first and foremost, there must be a ceasefire and a resumption of negotiations,” Macron added.
The French president also accused Trump of constantly contradicting himself on the conflict.
“You have to be serious. When you want to be serious, you don’t say the opposite every day of what you said the day before. And perhaps you shouldn’t talk every day,” Macron said.
Asked about Trump’s criticism of NATO allies and threats to pull the US out of the North Atlantic alliance, Macron said the US president was undermining NATO by creating “daily doubt about his commitment” to the alliance.
“I don’t want to provide a running commentary of an operation the Americans have decided on their own with Israel. They can deplore the fact they’re not being helped, but that’s not our operation. We want peace as soon as possible,” he added.
