Macron says 'unrealistic' to open Hormuz Strait by force, urges Trump to 'be serious'

Lead

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday that a military operation to liberate the Strait of Hormuz by force is “unrealistic,” while urging US President Donald Trump to adopt a more serious and consistent approach to the ongoing conflict involving Iran. Speaking to journalists during a state visit to South Korea, Macron argued that reopening the vital waterway could only occur in consultation with Iran after a ceasefire and a return to negotiations. He also mounted a defence of Nato, warning that repeated public doubts about the United States’ commitment erode the trust that underpins the alliance.

According to reporting carried by France 24, the South China Morning Post and The Guardian, Macron noted that calls for a forced liberation of the strait have sometimes been expressed by the United States, though the position has varied. “I say sometimes because it has varied, it is never the option we have chosen and we consider it unrealistic,” he said. He explained that such an operation would require an inordinate amount of time and would expose vessels to coastal threats from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, who possess significant resources including ballistic missiles, along with other risks.

The remarks come against the backdrop of a conflict that has entered its second month. Multiple outlets report that the United States and Israel have conducted strikes on Iran, and that Iran has responded in ways that have left the Strait of Hormuz, a critical route for oil and other trade, virtually paralysed for weeks. The Guardian noted that the disruption has contributed to a surge in energy prices and inflation.

Coverage Comparison

Outlets placed differing emphases on Macron’s comments while covering the same core statements. France 24 and the South China Morning Post led with the French president’s assessment that a military push to reopen Hormuz is unrealistic and his frustration at alternating US statements on the Iran war. Both framed the story around strategic and diplomatic caution, quoting Macron’s insistence that the strait must be reopened because it is strategic for energy flows, fertilisers and international trade, yet only through dialogue with Iran.

The Guardian similarly highlighted the Hormuz warning but devoted more space to Macron’s broader criticism of inconsistent remarks on both the Iran conflict and Nato, as well as the alliance’s underlying value. It linked the comments to mixed messages from Washington this week, including suggestions that the United States might leave Nato and criticism of European leaders for declining fuller backing of the operation. BBC coverage, by contrast, foregrounded Macron’s response to personal remarks by Trump about the French leader’s marriage, describing those comments as “inelegant” and “neither elegant nor up to standard,” while still recording Macron’s call for seriousness on the war and his defence of Nato.

Across the reports, Macron is quoted as saying there is “too much talk” and that “it’s all over the place,” adding: “We all need stability, calm, a return to peace – this isn’t a show!” He continued that when one wants to be serious, “you don’t go around saying the opposite every day of what you just said the day before. And perhaps you shouldn’t talk every day.” BBC and The Guardian both recorded his insistence that alliances such as Nato are defined by what is left unsaid—the trust that underpins them—and that casting daily doubt on commitment empties them of substance. Partners, he argued, sign agreements and show up when issues arise rather than commenting every day on whether they will respect them.

The Guardian reported that Trump has offered varying assessments, at times suggesting the war was as good as won and that the United States did not need allies, at other times expecting allies to join the military operation or to act alone to “go get their oil” in the strait. It also cited Trump’s private White House lunch remarks that Nato had “treated us very badly” and comments to Reuters that he was “absolutely without question” considering leaving, alongside a later statement to the Daily Telegraph that a US exit was “beyond consideration” while calling the organisation a “paper tiger.” BBC noted Macron’s reluctance to comment on an operation the United States and Israel “decided on by themselves,” observing that they then lament being alone in it. “It’s not our operation,” Macron said, according to that report.

Key Claims

• Emmanuel Macron criticised Donald Trump’s inconsistent remarks on the Iran war and Nato, saying that if one wants to be serious it is better not to come out with something different every day (reported by BBC, France 24, The Guardian and South China Morning Post).
• Macron defended Nato and said repeated remarks questioning the United States’ commitment undermine the alliance by eroding the trust that defines it (reported by BBC, France 24 and The Guardian).
• Trump has suggested the United States might leave Nato, though he has also described an exit as beyond consideration (reported by The Guardian with reference to Trump’s comments to Reuters and the Daily Telegraph).
• Macron stated that a military operation to liberate the Strait of Hormuz is “unrealistic” because it would take excessive time and expose shipping to Iranian coastal threats, including from the Revolutionary Guards (reported by France 24, The Guardian and South China Morning Post).
• The United States and Israel have conducted strikes on Iran (reported across The Guardian, BBC and France 24).
• Iran’s actions have left the Strait of Hormuz virtually paralysed for weeks (reported by France 24, South China Morning Post and The Guardian).
• The closure has caused a surge in energy prices and inflation (reported by The Guardian).
• Trump mocked Macron’s marriage at a private lunch; Macron dismissed the comments as neither elegant nor up to standard (reported by BBC).

Perspectives

From the French presidential standpoint presented in the remarks, the priority is de-escalation, predictability and multilateral consultation. Macron portrayed daily contradictory statements as incompatible with the gravity of war and peace and with the lives at stake. He positioned Europe as having declined to join an operation decided without it, while still recognising the strategic necessity of reopening Hormuz once hostilities stop—through a ceasefire and talks rather than force. His defence of Nato rested on the idea that unspoken mutual trust, not continual public renegotiation of commitments, gives the alliance its substance.

US positions, as relayed through the same coverage, have shifted. Reports attribute to Trump and Washington officials a range of messages: confidence that the conflict is nearly won without needing allies; expectations that allies should join or act independently regarding oil in the strait; and fluctuating signals on Nato’s future, from considering departure to declaring it beyond consideration while criticising the alliance as a paper tiger and faulting European reluctance. These statements form the backdrop against which Macron called for fewer public pronouncements and greater steadiness.

European and alliance-focused perspectives emphasised in The Guardian and BBC stress the risk that public questioning of Nato commitments hollows out deterrence and cohesion. Macron’s reminder that France and other European countries have supported some US operations yet resisted deeper entanglement underscores a preference for collective decision-making over unilateral action followed by complaints of isolation. On the nuclear dimension, BBC recorded Macron noting earlier claims that Iran’s programme had been fully addressed and arguing for international observers and a framework to prevent further enrichment.

Asian and broader international coverage, reflected in the South China Morning Post and France 24, treated the Hormuz assessment as the central practical warning. With the waterway critical to global energy and trade flows, Macron’s insistence on consultation with Iran and rejection of a forcible option was presented as a call for realistic diplomacy amid price pressures and supply disruption. Across all accounts, the French leader’s South Korea visit provided the setting for a public appeal for calm, seriousness and a return to negotiated paths out of the month-old war.