Rejected by the French Ministry of Defense, Trump tried to persuade Macron to send a warship to the Strait of Hormuz

JAKARTA - US President Donald Trump admitted that he had communicated with French President Emmanuel Macron yesterday following his request for a military coalition to open the Strait of Hormuz.

"Yes, I mean, of course, I think he will help. I mean, I'll tell you later," Trump said at a White House news conference on Tuesday, March 17, quoted by The Guardian.

Previously, the French Minister of Defense, Catherine Vautrin, said that her government was reluctant to plan to deploy warships to the Strait of Hormuz due to the US-Israeli attack on Iran.

The rejection came after Trump asked France, Britain, Australia, Japan, South Korea to China to send their warships to control the Strait of Hormuz.

The French Ministry of Defense emphasized that France's attitude towards the situation in the Middle East or the Gulf remains defensive.

The Israeli-US attack on Iran began on February 28. The conflict escalated after Israel-US attacked Iran's drinking water refineries and energy infrastructure, resulting in Iran de facto blocking the Strait of Hormuz.