Macron warns Iran against imposing Hormuz tolls
On Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron cautioned Iran against the imposition of tolls on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, asserting that every effort must be made to prevent fees for passage through this critical chokepoint.
Earlier, Iran's Fars news agency reported that Tehran had included a provision for maritime service fees in the framework agreement with the United States aimed at resolving the conflict in the Middle East, just prior to its announcement.
"We uphold international law, and we will exert all our efforts to guarantee that no tolls are implemented," Macron stated during an interview with TF1 television, ahead of the G7 summit in France, which will be attended by US President Donald Trump.
The specifics of the agreement have not been made public. Macron indicated that the accord had already been signed "electronically" and that further annexes would be "finalized" on Friday
“I don’t want to enter into the details,” he said.
Macron said a joint France-UK mission to ensure the Strait opens was prepared to deploy “very quickly”, with the French flagship aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle ready to be in the zone “on a timescale of two to three days”.
“We do everything so that this accord is a reality and that Hormuz can reopen,” Macron said. European countries are impatiently awaiting the reopening of the Strait to bring down the price of energy and other goods.
Macron denied that the deal was a victory for Tehran, saying: “I would be patient and prudent.”
“As you know, we didn’t participate in that offensive,” he said, referring to the US-Israeli war against the Islamic Republic.
“So our objective now is the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. And indeed, there shouldn’t be any tolls or anything that would enrich those in power,” he said.
He added that Iran’s stocks of enriched uranium need to be neutralised and placed under the supervision of the UN atomic watchdog.
“We will ensure that the enriched uranium capabilities that remain are properly neutralised,” Macron said.
The sensitive stocks should be “either taken out, or diluted” and then looked after by the International Atomic Energy Agency”, Macron said.
