Paris, Mar 11 (EFE). – French President Emmanuel Macron warned on Wednesday during a G7 meeting that Iran’s military capabilities “have not been reduced to zero,” nor has he received any evidence that the Strait of Hormuz has been mined by the Tehran regime, contrary to suggestions made by his US counterpart, Donald Trump.
”There has already been considerable damage to Iran’s military ballistic capabilities, (but it) continues to attack several countries in the region, and therefore its capabilities are not reduced to zero ,” Macron stated.
Macron also asked United States President Donald Trump to “clarify both his final objectives and the tempo he wants to give to the operations.”
The French president also asserted that he had “no confirmation, either from partner services or from French intelligence services” of the use of naval mines by Iran in the Strait of Hormuz.
The French president also stated that “the conditions are not met” to carry out a mission to guarantee maritime trade in the Strait of Hormuz, which is “a war zone,” but he insisted that it “must be organized” to provide escorts “when necessary.”
”Currently, the conditions are not met. The Strait is a war zone, but this work must be organized. This is what we have set out to prepare, in parallel with the work with shipping companies, transport companies, and insurers,” Macron added.
He also asserted that the G7 countries (the United States, Germany, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, Japan, and Canada) agreed that the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of the world’s oil production regularly passes, “in no way justifies lifting the sanctions” against Russia.
The group leaders reached a “consensus” that they should not change their stance on Russia and should maintain their efforts in support of Ukraine.
Macron also urged the G7 leaders to ask other countries to refrain from implementing “any restrictions” on oil and gas exports that could further destabilize markets.
He also highlighted Tuesday’s “productive working session” between the G7 Energy Group and the International Energy Agency (IEA), whose 32 member countries unanimously decided Wednesday to release 400 million barrels of oil from their strategic reserves to compensate for supply losses due to the disruption of maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.
This decision “is equivalent to approximately 20 days of the volumes exported through the strait,” Macron explained. EFE
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