Macron wants escorts for container ships and tankers in Strait of Hormuz ASAP

PARIS — President Emmanuel Macron said France wants to set up military escorts for container ships and tankers into the Strait of Hormuz “as soon as possible,” though he cautioned such an operation can’t get underway until the fighting in the Middle East subsides.

The disruption of maritime traffic in the strategic chokepoint, through which about 20 percent of the world’s crude passes each day, has sent oil prices skyrocketing in recent days.

Macron said the potential mission would be a “purely defensive mission” including both European and non-European states.

Macron told reporters at a military base in Cyprus that he discussed the potential mission with his Greek and Cypriot counterparts, Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Nikos Christodoulides.

Macron’s visit to Cyprus Monday comes after the island suffered drone attacks last week following the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran that plunged the region into conflict.

“When Cyprus is attacked, it is Europe that is attacked,” Macron said as he pledged to uphold Franco-Cypriot defense agreements. France has already sent air defenses to Cyprus and deployed its only aircraft carrier to the region.

Macron said France was looking to “take a strictly defensive stance alongside all countries that are under attack from Iran” and “contribute to regional deescalation.”

Cyprus’ Christodoulides also said that Nicosia would not engage ⁠in ​any military operations ⁠but ​would instead focus ‌on a humanitarian ​role. Mitsotakis said “freedom of navigation” was “under attack” and said Europe should prepare to “deal with other asymmetric threats, such as large migration flows.”

Nektaria Stamouli contributed to this report.