French President Emmanuel Macron has rejected Donald Trump’s call for other countries to use military force to unblock the Strait of Hormuz, calling the suggestion “unrealistic.”
In a televised address, Trump – who has been railing at allies for not supporting him over the Iran war – urged other nations to “go to the Strait and just take it.”
But in some of his strongest criticisms yet of the US president, Macron said the “idea of forcibly liberating the Strait of Hormuz through a military operation,” was “unrealistic.”
Macron was speaking Thursday to journalists from South Korea where he is on an official visit.
He added that safe passage of commercial shipping through the strait would require a ceasefire and a reopening of negotiations with Iran. He said that a military force could accompany such shipping as part of a reassurance mission.
On the broader campaign, Macron reiterated that, despite Trump’s request for support, France would not participate in the conflict against Iran, which was a US-Israeli operation.
On the campaign’s prospects, his outlook was scathing.
Macron said that without follow-up inspections by outside inspectors, the ongoing military campaign was “not serious.”
“You still have, and will continue to have tomorrow in Iran, people with the necessary expertise, and you still have hidden sites, etc. Therefore, a targeted military action, even lasting only a few weeks, isn’t enough to resolve the nuclear issue in the long term.”