The president of France said his country is ready to enable more participation in shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

Emmanuel Macron, in an interview with ABC, when asked whether he would deploy French forces to reopen the strait, said: “I don’t want to engage in confrontation with any country, but we are ready to protect certain capacities and to enable this passage, with more participation, yes.”

He said the “main objective” of his meeting with Donald Trump, the president of the United States, on Monday was “to find the right agreement for reopening” the Strait of Hormuz and to address the escalating global energy crisis.

Macron said that with the start of the war, “the Iranian government has this card in its hand.” In response to the question of whether this was a blind spot for Mr. Trump, he said: “Here, nobody is being blamed. We are where we are. I think the United States is a country that can solve this problem and we need you.” He added that the situation in the strait “was likely underestimated at least.”

In his speech at the United Nations General Assembly, Macron said the Strait of Hormuz should not be used as a tool of “extortion,” and that reopening the waterway is a “priority.”