French ship becomes first western vessel allowed through Strait of Hormuz since start of Iran war after Macron blasts Trump for strategy and ‘inelegant’ remarks about wife Brigitte
After Emmanuel Macron criticized Donald Trump, the first western ship allowed to pass through the Strait of Hormuz yesterday was a French ship.
The container ship is the only ship belonging to a major Western shipping line capable of safe passage since the outbreak of the Iran war five weeks ago.
It was unclear last night why this was allowed, given that Tehran had warned that the waterway was closed to ‘enemies’.
The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs declined to comment, but three more ships belonging to Omani companies passed through, as did those from Japan.
The ship belonged to French group CMA CGM, owned by French-Lebanese billionaire Rodolphe Saade, who is close to Macron.
This came just a day after the French President told Donald Trump he needed to be ‘serious’ about opening the Bosphorus, telling him: ‘Maybe you shouldn’t talk every day.’
But the US leader paid little attention to this and began boasting on Friday that he could single-handedly force the opening of the vital shipping lane; He had called on Europe to do this for him just 24 hours ago.
Mr Trump wrote on the Truth Social platform: ‘With a little more time we can easily open the STRAIT OF HORUZ, get the oil and make a fortune. WILL IT ‘Gush’ FOR THE WORLD???’
The UN Security Council was to discuss yesterday a resolution prepared by Bahrain with the support of Arab countries in the Gulf, authorizing military action to reopen the Bosphorus.
The ship’s passage came a day after French President Emmanuel Macron (pictured) told his US counterpart Donald Trump that he needed to be ‘serious’ about opening the Bosphorus, telling him: “Maybe you shouldn’t talk every day.”
Image: French-owned CMA CGM container ship, the only ship belonging to a major Western shipping line capable of safe passage since the outbreak of the Iran war five weeks ago
But France withdrew after reports that China and Russia had effectively blocked the motion, saying they opposed any language authorization powers.
Diplomats speaking to the New York Times said that all three countries have veto power, but there are divisions among the 10 countries that do not have veto power.
No statement was made and the UN said it would notify the press of the new date ‘as soon as it is officially determined’.
As Iran’s control over a vital shipping lane through which one-fifth of global oil passes leads to global economic collapse, world leaders are desperately searching for a solution.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky yesterday offered to help reopen the Bosphorus, drawing on his experience of breaking Russia’s siege.
He suggested that unmanned aerial vehicles, military convoys and electronic warfare would be needed for this, and told his allies: ‘We are ready to help in this regard.’
