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An Iranian threat to the Strait of Hormuz is likely to remain even after de-escalation of the Iran war, a senior French Navy officer has told The National.
"There will always be a remaining threat,” said Vice-Admiral Emmanuel Slaars, the navy's Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations. "The question is: how strong will that threat be?”
Speaking on the sidelines of the Paris Defence and Strategy Forum, Vice Adm Slaars said the risk of an Iranian escalation in the Strait of Hormuz was "almost tangible” during his past deployment as operational commander of a pan-European naval operation that defended ships from IRGC attacks in the waterway. The strait is less than 35km wide at its narrowest point.
"There is no surprise in the way that they [Iran] are able to engage the assets they are currently engaging,” said Adm Slaars, who headed the Agenor mission from 2022 to 2024 alongside eight European countries including non-EU Norway.
He declined to estimate how long the present conflict could continue, but said France would remain committed to defending its allies in the region. He added that joint European operations in the Red Sea should be a source of inspiration for future defensive naval operations in the Strait of Hormuz.
'Remaining threat'
"With the support of our partners in the region of course, at a moment or another, there will be a need for that kind of commitment to make sure we are able to deal with the remaining threat,” he said.
In retaliation for US and Israeli attacks, Iran has brought the waterway to a near-halt, which has pushed up oil prices and created fears of shortages of products such as fertilisers and helium.
US President Donald Trump threatened to bomb Iran's energy infrastructure if it did not re-open Hormuz before postponing that action on Monday for five days, saying that he had engaged in diplomatic talks with Tehran.
Some countries, including China, have negotiated the safe passage of their ships, but Vice Adm Slaars called for a more co-operative approach among countries. "The Strait of Hormuz is an international strait and it has to be free for those who effectively want to use it,” he said. "It goes within international law.”
Last week, more than 30 states, including the UAE and France, signed a joint statement condemning Iran's de facto closure of the strait. French President Emmanuel Macron has pushed for talks to find a diplomatic solution to re-open it but only once fighting in the region has died down.
"The aim is to embed those effectively ready to commit to re-establish more secure navigation into the Strait of Hormuz with the support of our GCC partners,” Vice Adm Slaars said. He cited France's "reliable, reactive and credible” military operations to defend its Gulf allies from Iranian attacks. It was among a handful of other European states that intervened to do so.
"We reacted effectively in an efficient manner and extremely quickly to be at the level of the engagement,” he said. France sent Rafale jets and air defence systems to the UAE to fend off Iranian drones and missiles.
France also hopes to collaborate with Gulf states pushing forward UN Security Council Resolution 2718, sponsored by Bahrain, that condemns Iranian attacks on the strait on and ships using it.
Bahrain's ambassador to France, Essam Al Jassim, called for a strong response to Iranian behaviour.
"External protection has clear limits. International coalitions help secure sea lanes and stabilise markets, but their response remains largely reactive," he said at the Paris defence forum. "They do not address, for example, escalating state-backed attacks, and without doing so, disruptions will persist."
UN Security Council members started negotiations on Monday on a draft resolution circulated by Bahrain that could authorise the use of force to protect shipping in the strait.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told his country's parliament on Tuesday that the language could be difficult to adopt. Paris has circulated a more conciliatory alternative text.
Diplomats have said talks were under way to assess whether the two drafts could be reconciled.
