France will send 10 more escort warships to the Middle East

President Emmanuel Macron announced on March 9 that France would dispatch eight corvettes and two helicopter carriers to the eastern Mediterranean, the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz “within 48 hours”. This force will supplement the nuclear aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle in the Mediterranean, as well as a corvette and air defense systems in Cyprus.

“This is an unprecedented mobilization of forces by the French navy,” President Macron said at a press conference at a military base in Cyprus.

After boarding the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier, Mr. Macron explained that the French navy was deployed to protect about 400,000 French citizens in the region, against attacks on Paris allies and possibly escort ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on March 3 announced the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and warned that it would attack vehicles passing through this vital maritime route.

The French President has been trying in recent days to organize an international escort force to ensure the Strait of Hormuz reopens to oil tankers and container ships. According to Mr. Macron, there are currently a few European countries ready to join France, besides India and Asian countries.

The French President revealed that he spoke with his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian about the above proposal on March 8. “This is not an attack mission, but an escort and support mission,” he said, and commented that the fierce phase in the Middle East war will last for “a few days, maybe a few weeks.”

The Middle East has been engulfed in war since the US and Israel launched an air campaign against Iran on February 28. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) then retaliated by launching missiles and suicide drones at Israel and US bases in Arab countries in the region.

European officials accuse Iran’s missiles and UAVs of also targeting Türkiye and the British garrison base in Cyprus, meaning the risk of the continent being dragged into conflict. Iran has previously stated many times that it is not at war with countries in the region and does not directly target Türkiye, while the UAVs targeting Cyprus seem to originate from Lebanese territory.