German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni are also attending the forum, while more than twenty leaders and representatives from other countries are participating via videoconference.

The host presidency stated that “some thirty” nations, including European, Middle Eastern, Asian, and Latin American countries, are taking part in the discussions.

Macron announced this week that it is a peaceful multinational mission to restore free navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, highlighting its non-belligerent nature.

The French president stated that this strictly defensive operation, unlike belligerent ones, would be deployed as soon as the situation allows.

In response to the aggression suffered on February 28 from the United States and Israel, Iran imposed a selective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway through which 20 percent of the world’s oil passed daily before the start of the conflict.

Following the failure of the Washington-Tehran meeting in Pakistan last week to seek an agreement to end the war, US President Donald Trump announced a naval blockade of ships coming from or destined for Iranian ports in Hormuz, a decision that Iran described as an act of piracy.

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