France will not take part in military operations to open the Strait of Hormuz by force, but is prepared to help secure key maritime routes, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu told lawmakers amid escalating tensions in the Middle East.
“France is not a party to the conflict; it will not participate in military operations to open the Strait of Hormuz by force; it will not allow itself to be drawn into a war that it did not choose,” Lecornu said in the National Assembly.
However, he stressed that France stands ready to work with partners to ensure the security of shipping routes in line with international law.
“We are facing a problem of energy costs, not a problem of access. We must do everything to ensure that this maritime traffic crisis does not become an energy crisis,” he added, referring to the strategic waterway.
Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz - a crucial route for global trade and energy supplies - has been severely disrupted by rising tensions in the Gulf. The escalation followed joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran on 28 February and Tehran’s subsequent retaliation.
Lecornu warned that the conflict is widening, describing it as “a war that is spreading, hitting civilian infrastructure, threatening maritime security, and destabilising an entire region over the long term.”
He also announced plans to invest an additional €8.5 billion (about $9.8 billion) in munitions between 2026 and 2030 as part of an update to France’s military programming law, which will be debated in parliament later this year.
“It is essential and it is colossal,” he said, adding that a new “France Munitions” platform will soon be created to supply the country’s armed forces and allies.
The ongoing escalation has reportedly killed more than 1,340 people, while Iran has responded with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel as well as U.S. military assets in Jordan, Iraq and Gulf states.
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Sudan’s armed forces have accused the United Arab Emirates and Ethiopia of carrying out a drone attack targeting Khartoum airport, as a renewed wave of strikes shattered months of relative calm in the capital nearly three years into the civil war.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry has said it is difficult to assess the U.S. response to its proposal, citing Washington’s history of “excessive and unreasonable” demands.
Türkiye and Armenia have agreed to restore the historic Ani Bridge, in a move described as “symbolic and concrete cooperation” by Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Monday (4 May) that meteorological monitoring equipment at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in south-eastern Ukraine had been damaged by a drone.
A 77-year-old man and a 63-year-old woman were killed on Monday (4 May), after a man drove a car into a crowd on a pedestrianised street in the the eastern German city of Leipzig, authorities said.
Iran warned Armerican forces on Monday (4 May) not to enter the Strait of Hormuz, after the U.S. said it had launched a mission to try and reopen the sea passage. Meanwhile, Iran's Foreign Minister said there was no military solution to the Middle East conflict.
Medics are working to evacuate two people with symptoms of the deadly respiratory illness, hantavirus, from a luxury cruise ship being held off West Africa, after three people died and several others fell ill, officials have said.
Tensions are escalating in the Gulf after new attacks linked to maritime security in the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. forces say they struck Iranian fast boats at sea following hostile manoeuvres, after Iran was blamed for an earlier attack on a UAE oil facility.
What is hantavirus? Three people have died and three are still ill on a Netherlands-based cruise ship after it was hit by a suspected outbreak of the deadly virus, according to authorities on Sunday.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry has said it is difficult to assess the U.S. response to its proposal, citing Washington’s history of “excessive and unreasonable” demands.
Türkiye and Armenia have agreed to restore the historic Ani Bridge, in a move described as “symbolic and concrete cooperation” by Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas’s planned visits to Yerevan and Baku framed the 8th European Political Community summit on 4 May, as European leaders focused on fragile South Caucasus peace efforts and rising geopolitical tensions.
At a time when geopolitical tensions continue to ripple across multiple regions, from Ukraine to the Middle East, the South Caucasus once again finds itself at the crossroads of diplomacy and uncertainty.
A court in Sydney is set to review a non-publication order in the case of former Australian SAS soldier Ben Roberts-Smith, who is accused of war crime murder in Afghanistan.
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