Macron says military move to open Strait of Hormuz is unrealistic

SEOUL: French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday that a military operation aimed at opening the Strait of Hormuz by force would be unrealistic, while also criticising US President Donald Trump over what he described as shifting statements on the Iran war and Nato.

Speaking during a visit to South Korea, Macron said some voices had supported the idea of using military force to secure passage through the strategic waterway. He said that position had at times been expressed by the United States, but added that France had not chosen that course.

There are those who advocate for the liberation of the Strait of Hormuz by force through a military operation, a position sometimes expressed by the United States,

Macron said.

I say sometimes because it has varied, it is never the option we have chosen and we consider it unrealistic,

he added.

The French president said such an operation would require too much time and would leave vessels transiting the strait vulnerable to threats from the coast, particularly from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.

Macron arrived in South Korea on Thursday after visiting Japan. During his remarks, he also voiced frustration over Trump’s comments on the conflict involving Iran as well as on the Nato alliance, saying the US president had been inconsistent in his public messaging.

You have to be serious. When you want to be serious, you don’t say the opposite every day of what you said the day before. And perhaps you shouldn’t talk every day,

Macron said.

He also said Trump’s remarks were weakening Nato by creating uncertainty about Washington’s commitment to the alliance.

If you create daily doubt about your commitment, you hollow it out,

Macron said, adding that there is

too much talk… going off in all directions

.

Macron also responded to comments made by Trump on Wednesday, when the US president mocked the French leader’s marriage and accent. Referring to Trump’s remarks that

my wife treats me very badly

, Macron said the comments were

neither elegant nor up to standard

and

do not merit a response

.

The comments came as Macron continued his Asia trip, using his stop in Seoul to set out France’s position on the Strait of Hormuz and to express concern over what he portrayed as contradictory statements from Washington on major international security issues.