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Macron calls for Strait of Hormuz to reopen, says he talked with Iranian president

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by Ryan Mancini - 05/06/26 2:53 PM ET

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by Ryan Mancini - 05/06/26 2:53 PM ET

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French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday called for the Strait of Hormuz to reopen, as its closure has left oil and other cargo vessels stranded for two months amid a fragile ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran.

On the social platform X, Macron wrote that he met with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. Macron “expressed [his] deep concern over the ongoing escalation and condemned the unjustified strikes against Emirati civilian infrastructure and several ships,” the post read, translated from French.

“All parties must lift the blockade of the Strait, without delay and without conditions,” he continued. “We must durably return to the regime of full freedom of navigation that prevailed before the conflict.”

Macron said he plans to speak with President Trump about Iran’s peace proposal. He also said the “pre-positioning of the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle,” which is working to escort vessels safely through the strait as part of a multinational mission, will “help restore confidence among shipowners and insurers.”

“The return of calm in the Strait will help advance negotiations on the nuclear issue, the ballistic issue and the regional situation,” his post concludes. “The Europeans, on whom the lifting of sanctions depends, will take their place in this process.”

Macron’s post comes after he and other European leaders have sat on the sidelines watching the U.S. and Israel strike Iran. But the cutoff in the Strait of Hormuz has impacted the global economy, with Europe at risk of running out of jet fuel if the strait’s closure drags on.

Trump threatened to resume bombing if a deal between the U.S. and Iran falls apart. The latest iteration of a one-page memorandum of understanding between the two sides would create a 30-day window to negotiate a more detailed agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, throttle Iran’s nuclear program and lift U.S. sanctions, Axios reported.

The president posted to Truth Social on Wednesday that if an agreement is reached, “which is, perhaps, a big assumption, the already legendary Epic Fury will be at an end, and the highly effective Blockade will allow the Hormuz Strait to be OPEN TO ALL, including Iran.”

Putting an end to Operation Epic Fury would underline Trump’s push for the conflict to come to an end after igniting economic woes tied to the strait, which is where roughly 20 percent of the world’s oil exports pass through the region.

Trump also paused the U.S. operation Project Freedom on Tuesday, a temporary defense effort to allow for safe shipping to restart after weeks of being shut down by Iran. At least two U.S. commercial ships, along with American destroyers, have passed through the strait, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Tuesday.

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