DEFENDING FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION IN HORMUZ HOW FRANCE AND ITS ALLIES CONDEMN IRAN

USPA NEWS - Germany, France, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom have issued a joint statement that “condemns in the strongest terms” Iran’s recent attacks against unarmed commercial vessels in the Gulf, strikes on civilian infrastructure including oil and gas facilities, and the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iranian forces. The six leaders warn that these actions violate basic principles of international law, recall Iran’s obligations under UN Security Council Resolution 2817, and demand an immediate end to mine laying, drone and missile attacks and any attempt to block commercial traffic.

This article is written by our accredited senior geopolitical correspondent and is based on information released by official institutions, including the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, the Presidency of the French Republic (Elysee), the French Ministry of the Armed Forces, and the White House, drawing on her long standing expertise as a senior geopolitical journalist to provide in depth, data driven insights and intellectual intuition into the strategic and regional implications of the ongoing war in Iran, which began on 28 February.

JOINT STATEMENT ON HORMUZ, A RARE FRONT OF LIKE MINDED MARITIME POWERS
Germany, France, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom have issued a joint statement that “condemns in the strongest terms” Iran’s recent attacks against unarmed commercial vessels in the Gulf, strikes on civilian infrastructure including oil and gas facilities, and the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iranian forces. The six leaders warn that these actions violate basic principles of international law, recall Iran’s obligations under UN Security Council Resolution 2817, and demand an immediate end to mine laying, drone and missile attacks and any attempt to block commercial traffic. This is why we present here the joint G7 communiqué, as France prepares to chair the G7 summit to be held in Evian on 15 June.

The text underlines that freedom of navigation, particularly as enshrined in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, is a cornerstone of global order. It stresses that disruptions to maritime trade and energy supply chains will be felt “everywhere in the world”, hitting the most vulnerable economies hardest, and calls for a complete moratorium on attacks against civilian infrastructure, including oil and gas installations. The six countries say they are “ready to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure the safety of navigation in the Strait”, welcome the International Energy Agency’s decision to release strategic oil stocks and pledge additional measures to stabilise energy markets and support the most affected states.

Beyond this joint statement, one lesson of the current crisis is how resilient the Iranian system has proved to be after nearly half a century in power. In spite of repeated waves of protest and international pressure, the regime still keeps much of its population locked under the domination of the clerical leadership, while building up layered military and economic defences designed to withstand external strikes and sanctions. In that sense, the recent cycle of Israeli and US operations may also reveal either a lack of coordination, an underestimation of Iran’s ability to absorb blows and retaliate across the region, or both. What is certain is that the conflict is already inflicting a heavy toll in neighbouring countries, displacing hundreds of thousands of civilians and complicating humanitarian access, at a time when Muslim populations are observing Ramadan.

PRES. EMMANUEL MACRON’S DEFENCE COUNCIL FRANCE IS “NOT PART OF THIS WAR”
Two days earlier, Emmanuel Macron used the opening of a National Defence and Security Council meeting on Iran and the Middle East to fix France’s line. After paying tribute to Major Arnaud Frion, killed in Iraq by a drone attack attributed to a pro Iranian militia while deployed against Islamic State, Macron insisted that “France did not choose this war” and “is not party to this conflict”, describing the French posture as “purely defensive”. His first priority, he said, is to protect French nationals, diplomatic and military sites and national interests throughout the region

The second objective is to stand by partners linked to France by defence agreements and engaged alongside French forces in counter terrorism and regional stabilization, from Iraq to the Gulf and the Levant, while trying “to contain as much as possible the geographical extension of the conflict”. The third pillar of the French strategy is to guarantee maritime security and freedom of navigation, whether in the eastern Mediterranean, where France works with Cyprus and monitors the Lebanese situation, or in the Red Sea and at Bab el Mandeb, where Paris participates in the EU naval mission Aspides.

A CLEAR RED LINE ON HORMUZ ESCORTS YES, “LIBERATION” OPERATIONS NO
On the Strait of Hormuz itself, President Macron drew a sharp distinction between war fighting and sea lane protection. “France will never take part in operations to open or liberate the Strait of Hormuz in the current context,” he said, ruling out any participation in offensive naval action as long as intense bombardments and major combat operations continue in the region. Once the situation is “calmer” once the core of the bombardments has ceased – Paris is prepared, “with other nations”, to assume responsibility for a naval escort system for commercial shipping, covering both container vessels and tankers.

According to Macron, such an escort mechanism would require detailed political, technical and operational work with shipping companies, insurers and partner navies, and could only be set up after a process of “de confliction” with Iran to ensure that it is not perceived as an act of war. He insists this future mission must be clearly separated from ongoing combat operations and kept distinct from Aspides, whose mandate is limited to the Red Sea and should not be extended to Hormuz. In other words, France is ready to help secure the Strait once active hostilities have cooled, but refuses to be part of any forced reopening that could make it a direct belligerent.

ENERGY SHOCKS AND GLOBAL RIPPLE EFFECTS
WHY PARIS FRAMES HORMUZ AS A COLLECTIVE RESPONSIBILITY
Both the joint statement and Macron’s remarks frame the crisis as a global economic and humanitarian risk, not just a narrow security issue in the Gulf. The leaders warn that Iran’s actions threaten world energy markets and could destabilise fragile economies through price spikes and supply disruptions, which is why they welcome the IEA’s coordinated release of strategic reserves and promise to work with producing countries to increase output. Macron, for his part, presents France’s maritime role as serving not only its own interests but also “international” interests in the free flow of gas, oil and trade.

Paris also signals that any long term solution will require cooperation far beyond the six signatories – including regional actors such as India and Gulf states, which have already been consulted on possible escort arrangements. By repeatedly invoking international law, UN resolutions and multilateral energy mechanisms, France and its partners are trying to turn the Hormuz confrontation into a test case for collective security at sea, rather than a purely US Iran showdown.... To be continued

This editorial does not claim to provide definitive answers, but to offer one informed viewpoint, grounded in years of reporting and analysis, in the hope of clarifying what is really at stake behind the day to day headlines.