French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday that he plans to talk to Iranian authorities and will insist on the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
“We have established a coalition whose purpose is precisely to ensure security, to secure and stabilize, to demonstrate that the international community supports an opening [of the Strait of Hormuz], and so I hope that we will be able to convince the stakeholders in the coming days," Macron told reporters in Andorra, as quoted by Reuters.
Meanwhile, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot called on Iran to be ready to make “major concessions" in talks to end the war with the US and Israel
Speaking before the UN Security Council, Barrot said, “There can be no lasting solution to this crisis unless the Iranian regime agrees to major concessions and a radical shift in its stance."
Iran has restricted passage through the Strait of Hormuz since the US and Israel launched joint airstrikes against it. The US, in turn, has imposed a naval blockade on the Strait of Hormuz, which started two weeks ago.
Axios reported on Sunday that Iran had transmitted a proposal for a phased framework to the United States through Pakistani intermediaries.
The proposal suggests that negotiations over the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and an end to the current conflict be prioritized, while discussions on its nuclear program are postponed to a later stage, a US official and two sources familiar with the matter told Axios.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Monday that the US is "discussing" the Iranian proposal on the issue of the Strait of Hormuz, but stopped short of saying that the proposal is being "considered."
Speaking with reporters, Leavitt confirmed that US President Donald Trump met with his national security team to discuss the Iranian proposal, which would see both countries ease restrictions on the vital global shipping lane, and stressed that no decision had been made yet.
She "reiterated" that President Trump's "red lines" with respect to Iran's nuclear weapons program are well-known to all sides.
Leavitt "wouldn't say that they are considering" the Iranian proposal, just that "there was a discussion this morning that I don't want to get ahead of," and that President Trump would likely make an announcement on the issue shortly.
Meanwhile, Channel 12 News reported on Monday that Israel recently passed a message to the Trump administration warning that any easing of the naval blockade on the Strait of Hormuz will be interpreted by Tehran as weakness.
Such a move, even if partial or temporary, would not lead to flexibility on Tehran's part, sources stressed.