France moves aircraft carrier to Red Sea with eye on Hormuz mission

France on Wednesday deployed its carrier strike group to the Red Sea as part of planning for a potential mission to secure the Strait of Hormuz, urging Washington and Tehran to consider the proposal given the global economic impact of their competing blockades.

Fresh exchanges of fire on Monday underscored the stakes as the U.S. and Iran struggle for control of the narrow waterway, a vital artery for global energy and trade, shaking a fragile four-week-old truce and reinforcing rival maritime blockades.

“The reason why we must make a renewed effort today is simply that the blockade of Hormuz continues, the damage to the world’s economy is therefore becoming more and more pronounced, and the risk of a prolongation of hostilities is too serious for us to accept it,” a French presidency official told reporters in a briefing after the army announced the strike group’s deployment.

Franco-British proposal in planning

France and Britain have been working on a proposal for several weeks that aims to lay the groundwork for safe transit through the Strait once the situation stabilises or the conflict is resolved. It would need coordination with Iran and a dozen countries have indicated a willingness to take part in the mission following several preparatory meetings.

The French army said in a statement that the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier group, which is accompanied by an Italian and Dutch warship, was en route to the southern Red Sea.

The deployment aims to assess the regional operational environment, expand crisis‑management options to strengthen security, enable the integration of partner countries’ assets within a defensive framework consistent with international law, and help reassure maritime trade stakeholders, the military said.

“What we are proposing is that Iran gains passage for its ships through the Strait and in return commits to negotiating with the Americans on issues of nuclear materials, missiles, and the region, and we propose that the Americans, for their part, lift their blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and, in return, obtain Iran’s commitment to negotiations,” the French presidency official said.

“Under these conditions we could deploy the multinational force to secure the convoys crossing the Strait of Hormuz and this obviously requires that the Iranians not fire on the ships.”

Hormuz is Iranian leverage

It was not clear why Iran would consider such a proposal given its control over the Strait has been a key element of leverage in its discussions with Washington to end the war.

“We collectively want to send the signal that not only are we ready to secure the Strait of Hormuz, but that we are also capable of doing so,” the French official said.

“The question now will be to obtain Iranian consent, American consent.”

European states have been largely onlookers in the conflict between the U.S., Israel and Iran, but with shipping lanes in the Middle East impacted and the price of oil fluctuating around $100 a barrel, ​European powers are grappling with the issue of how to defend their interests.

Their refusal to support U.S. President Donald Trump’s blockade has drawn sharp criticism from Trump against countries he accused of failing to align with U.S.-led efforts and the move to send assets to the region may be a way to assuage those concerns.

周三，法国将其航母打击群部署到红海，作为一项可能确保霍尔木兹海峡安全的行动计划的一部分，并敦促华盛顿和德黑兰考虑这一提议，因为双方的封锁行动对全球经济造成了影响。

周一爆发的新一轮交火凸显了美伊两国争夺这条狭窄水道控制权的利害关系，这条水道是全球能源和贸易的重要动脉，此次交火动摇了脆弱的四周停火协议，并加强了双方的海上封锁。

“我们今天必须再次努力的原因很简单，霍尔木兹海峡的封锁仍在继续，因此对世界经济的损害越来越明显，敌对行动延长的风险太严重，我们不能接受，”法国总统府一位官员在军方宣布部署打击群后向记者表示。

法英在规划方面的提议

法国和英国已就一项旨在为局势稳定或冲突解决后安全通行霍尔木兹海峡奠定基础的提案进行了数周磋商。该提案需要与伊朗协调，在多次筹备会议后，已有十几个国家表示愿意参与这项工作。

法国军方在一份声明中表示，“戴高乐”号航空母舰编队在意大利和荷兰军舰的护航下，正前往红海南部。

军方表示，此次部署旨在评估区域作战环境，扩大危机管理选项以加强安全，使伙伴国家的资产能够整合到符合国际法的防御框架内，并帮助消除海上贸易利益相关者的疑虑。

“我们建议伊朗允许其船只通过霍尔木兹海峡，作为交换，伊朗承诺就核材料、导弹和地区问题与美国进行谈判；而美国方面则解除对霍尔木兹海峡的封锁，作为交换，伊朗承诺参与谈判，”法国总统府官员表示。

“在这种情况下，我们可以部署多国部队来保护穿越霍尔木兹海峡的船队，这显然要求伊朗人不得向船只开火。”

霍尔木兹海峡是伊朗的筹码

鉴于伊朗对霍尔木兹海峡的控制一直是其与华盛顿谈判结束战争的关键筹码，目前尚不清楚伊朗为何会考虑这样的提议。

这位法国官员表示：“我们共同希望发出这样的信号：我们不仅准备好确保霍尔木兹海峡的安全，而且我们也有能力做到这一点。”

“现在的问题是获得伊朗和美国的同意。”

在美以伊三国冲突中，欧洲各国大多是旁观者，但随着中东航道受到影响，石油价格在每桶 100 美元左右波动，欧洲列强正在努力应对如何捍卫自身利益的问题。

这些国家拒绝支持美国总统唐纳德·特朗普的封锁，这招致了特朗普对这些国家的严厉批评。特朗普指责这些国家未能与美国领导的努力保持一致，而向该地区派遣资产的举动可能是为了缓解这些担忧。