France has announced that it has dispatched the warship Charles de Gaulle to the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden to prepare for a future joint mission with Britain to strengthen freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.
The British government has also announced that it will send a warship to the Red Sea in coordination with France.
In response to this action, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi has considered the presence of extra-regional destroyers around the Strait of Hormuz to be a factor in escalating the crisis and militarizing this vital waterway.
He has emphasized that maritime security is not achieved through a “show of military power” and that foreign countries are part of the problem by supporting or remaining silent in the face of regional crises.
Gharibabadi has also clarified that the Strait of Hormuz does not belong to trans-regional powers and that the Islamic Republic of Iran, as a coastal country, has the right to exercise sovereignty and ensure the security of this waterway.
He has warned that any coordination by French and British ships with US actions in the Strait of Hormuz will be met with a decisive response from the Iranian armed forces.
