French President Emmanuel Macron said France and Oman had agreed to work together to ease tensions in the Middle East after meeting Oman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tarik in Paris on Monday.
Following the talks—the sultan’s first official visit to France—Macron said the two leaders had agreed on the need to guarantee safe maritime navigation and clear mines from the Strait of Hormuz.
“We agreed that we should guarantee safe sea routes and the demining of the Strait of Hormuz,” Macron wrote on X.
However, Iran rejected the proposal. Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s deputy foreign minister, said any mine-clearance operations in the strategic waterway must be carried out exclusively by Iran, citing an agreement between Tehran and Washington.
“The situation is complex, so we strongly advise France not to complicate matters with its provocations,” Gharibabadi wrote on X.
