France’s aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle is moving south through the Red Sea toward a possible deployment in the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz. The mission aims to ensure the safe passage of commercial vessels through the waterway, which has been disrupted by reciprocal blockades between Iran and the United States. French President Emmanuel Macron said a multinational mission is ready to maintain normal maritime traffic in the area.

According to France’s defense ministry, the carrier group includes warships from Italy and the Netherlands, which crossed the Suez Canal on Wednesday en route to the southern Red Sea. France and Britain have been working for weeks on a proposal to reopen safe navigation through the strait once conditions stabilize. Macron described the initiative as entirely defensive and separate from the warring parties.

Macron also urged Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in a phone call to seize this opportunity and expressed his intention to discuss the matter with U.S. President Donald Trump.