French President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday that the strikes by the United States and Israel had weakened Iran's ballistic military capabilities, but they were “not reduced to zero”. At the same time, the Elysee leader urged his American counterpart to provide clarifications regarding American objectives in the Middle East operation.
Speaking after a video call with other G7 leaders, the French president warned that Iran “continues to attack several countries in the region”.
“Considerable damage has already been done to Iran's military ballistic capabilities, but it continues to attack several countries in the region and therefore its capabilities have not been reduced to zero,” Macron was quoted as saying by AFP.
He said US President Donald Trump needed to “clarify both his ultimate goals and the pace he wants to set for the operations” launched alongside Israel against Iran on February 28.
At the same time, Emmanuel Macron stated that he has “no confirmation” that Iran is placing sea mines in the Strait of Hormuz.
“I have no confirmation of this, neither from the partner services, nor from our own services,” the French leader said.
Trump threatened Iran with “unprecedented” consequences
On Tuesday, Donald Trump had threatened Iran that it would face consequences of an “unprecedented” level if it mines the Strait of Hormuz, as the American press wrote that the regime in Tehran had already started placing mines in the area.
“I am pleased to report that in the last few hours we have struck and completely destroyed 10 inactive minefields, with more to come!” Trump declared in a subsequent post on his social media platform, Truth Social.
CBS News reported, based on claims made by a US official on condition of anonymity, that Iran is preparing to place naval mines in the Strait of Hormuz, using small boats that can carry two or three mines.
Iran's stockpile of mines is not precisely known, but estimates in recent years have ranged from 2,000 to 6,000, produced in Iran, China or Russia.
CNN also cited intelligence sources as saying that the mining process has already begun, but on a fairly small scale.
