French foreign minister says Hormuz crisis lasted ‘far too long,’ urges end to blockade

The French foreign minister on Monday said that the crisis around the Strait of Hormuz “has lasted for far too long” and must be brought to an end, warning that maritime insecurity is threatening both global trade and the international rules-based order.

“All of this has lasted for far too long. This must all be brought to an end,” Jean-Noel Barrot told the UN Security Council.

Calling freedom of navigation an “imprescriptible, inviolable right,” he warned against any impediment to passage through the strategic waterway.

“Straits are the arteries of the world. They are not the property of any individual,” he said, adding they “cannot be impeded by any obstacles.”

Barrot said what is unfolding in Hormuz goes beyond the waterway itself and concerns the international community’s ability to defend global public goods.

“If we were to accept the slightest exemption to this principle, thereby, we would establish a dangerous precedent,” he warned.

Barrot said “inaction is not an option” and pointed to what he described as a joint French-British initiative launched in Paris on April 17, calling for an international, independent and “strictly defensive mission” aimed at protecting commercial vessels, supporting mine-clearing operations and helping restore navigation through the strait. He added that more than 50 countries had backed the initiative.

“Oceans are a space for freedom, but not a space for lawlessness,” he said.