France ready to take part only in a defensive operation in Hormuz
France may take part in an international operation to ensure shipping through the Strait of Hormuz if it is exclusively defensive in nature.
French President Emmanuel Macron said this in an interview with the American television channel ABC, which aired on September 22.
"We are ready to take part in an international operation that has a clear concept and an exclusively defensive concept," he said. "I do not want to take part in a confrontation with any state. But we are ready to participate more actively in protecting certain facilities and ensuring the possibility of deliveries."
Macron added that the French side is counting on the United States and Iran reaching agreements under which normal deliveries through the Strait of Hormuz would resume and "pressure on diesel fuel, aviation fuel, oil, as well as on gasoline would decrease." As Macron emphasized, France decided not to take part in a war with Iran, since it considered that "this is not the right choice."
