PARIS, March 17 (Xinhua) -- French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday that France will never take part in operations to reopen the Strait of Hormuz "in the current context."
"France will never take part in operations to reopen the Strait of Hormuz in the current context," Macron said during a Defense and National Security Council meeting on Iran and the Middle East, adding that France would be ready to take part in "escorts" of ships once the situation is calmer.
U.S. President Donald Trump said Sunday that he had "demanded" several countries heavily reliant on Middle East oil to join a coalition to escort vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway through which about 20 percent of the world's oil passes.
On Feb. 28, Israel and the United States launched joint attacks on Tehran and several other Iranian cities, killing Iran's then Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, along with senior military commanders and civilians. Iran responded by launching waves of missile and drone strikes targeting Israel and U.S. bases and assets in the Middle East and strictly controlling access to the Strait of Hormuz.
The strikes have come into its third week and only 77 vessels have transited the strait since March, data from Lloyd's List Intelligence showed, a drop of about 90 percent year-on-year.
However, multiple European nations and the European Union on Monday voiced reluctance or outright opposition to Trump's call for a military mission to ensure safe shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
Stressing the need for diplomatic solutions and warning against further regional escalation, European leaders underscored that the current conflict should not evolve into a NATO mission or draw the continent into a broader war. ■
