French taskforce is streaming in direction of the Gulf after Macron ordered Navy ships in ‘unprecedented’ transfer as battle within the Middle East drives up oil costs
Emmanuel Macron has ordered French Navy ships to the Strait of Hormuz in an ‘unprecedented’ bid to combat skyrocketing oil prices.
The President of France will deploy eight frigates, two amphibious helicopter carriers and the country’s flagship Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier to the Middle East.
He said on Monday: ‘We are in the process of setting up a defensive, purely escort mission together with European and non-European states, with the purpose to enable, as soon as possible, the escort of container ships and tankers to gradually reopen the Strait of Hormuz.’
The passage, through which 20 per cent of the world’s natural gas and oil flows, is almost completely closed after Iran vowed to fire on any ships sailing.
It has seen the UK’s gas reverses dwindle from 18,000 GWh to just 6,700 GWh, with Britain now paying the highest wholesale gas price in Europe.
Yet Sir Keir Starmer, who has come in for fierce criticism from Donald Trump, is yet to deploy a single Royal Navy ship to the Middle East. HMS Dragon has meanwhile still not set sail from Portsmouth to begin its defence of British sovereign base areas in Cyprus.
It is understood that HMS Prince of Wales has been upgraded to advanced readiness, with crews ready to set sail within five days.
But if deployed, the aircraft carrier could require a French escort due to a lack of ships available from the Royal Navy.
Emmanuel Macron has ordered French Navy ships to the Strait of Hormuz in an ‘unprecedented’ bid to combat skyrocketing oil prices (The French President, middle left, is pictured at the bridge of a warship on Monday)
France are set to send eight frigates, two amphibious helicopter carriers and the country’s flagship Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier (pictured) to the Middle East
An aircraft carrier usually needs to be accompanied by two or three warships, either destroyers or frigates, and an attack submarine – although it’s understood no decision has been taken over whether to deploy the carrier, or whether it would be escorted.
The Royal Navy has six destroyers in total, but only one, HMS Dragon, is thought to be action-ready.
It comes amid mounting pressure on Prime Minister Starmer, who has steadfastly refused to join the war effort on Iran since it broke out on February 28.
That decision has led to a rift between the Labour leader and Trump, who dubbed the Brit ‘no Winston Churchill’ during a bombshell press conference last week.
The two figures held crisis talks on Sunday afternoon for the first time since fighting began after trading barbs over their conflicting stances.
In an astonishing outburst late on Saturday, Trump hit out at Sir Keir for agreeing defensive assistance only as Washington attacks Tehran alongside Israel.
He used his Truth Social social media platform to warn the US will ‘remember’ the lack of support from ‘our once great ally’ and suggested the PM was attempting to join a war after it had already been won.
In response, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper hit back saying ‘diplomacy through social media isn’t our style’ and said it was not in the UK’s interests to be ‘outsourcing our foreign policy’.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves later called for ‘de-escalation’ from both sides during a meeting at the House of Commons on Monday, in which she addressed fears that drivers could face record fuel prices.
Britons are being urged to drive less amid expectations the Middle East fighting will send forecourt prices soaring, with experts suggesting petrol could hit £2 per litre.
Saudi Arabia – the biggest oil supplier in the region – is said to be curbing output at two major fields in the latest sign of fallout from the war.
Sir Keir Starmer, who has come in for fierce criticism from Donald Trump, is yet to deploy a single Royal Navy ship to the Middle East
The UK is understood to be preparing aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales (pictured) for possible deployment
The Strait of Hormuz has been brought to a near total closure amid Iranian targeting in the Gulf region (tankers are seen off the coast of Iran last week)
The price of a barrel of oil has rocketed over $100 for the first time in years, with supplies threatened by attacks on infrastructure of major producers in the region.
Ms Reeves said she is ‘taking action to ensure that people pay the lowest possible price at the pump’, and also promised MPs would get a meeting focused on heating oil prices.
She added: ‘I recognise that households who use heating oil face unique challenges, and so I have asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury to lead discussions with officials and with rural and Northern Irish MPs to explore further action that we can take, and those meetings will happen on Wednesday.’
Trump told The Times of Israel on Monday that he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will make a ‘mutual decision’ on when to end the war with Iran.
The President also asserted that the Islamic Republic in Iran would have destroyed Israel if he and Netanyahu had not intervened.
‘Iran was going to destroy Israel and everything else around it,’ he said. ‘We’ve worked together. We’ve destroyed a country that wanted to destroy Israel.’
About the possibility of the war finishing, Trump added: ‘I think it’s mutual, a little bit. We’ve (Trump and Netanyahu) been talking. I’ll make a decision at the right time, but everything’s going to be taken into account.’
