French media: Trump issues a trap-like "invitation" to France, the UK and other countries

United States – After two weeks of military strikes on Iran, US President Trump specifically called on countries such as France, the UK, China, Japan, and South Korea to send warships to escort the Strait of Hormuz. French domestic news radio stated on the 16th that Trump's "invitation" was like a trap. The article said: Regardless of the circumstances, this call from Trump marks the failure of US strategy. After two weeks of intense attacks, the US is now seeking help from countries it has always looked down upon and kept at arm's length. The US rarely launches wars without such preparation.

It would be a major mistake for Europe to join this war, and perhaps Trump has fallen into his own trap.

The article said that US President Trump called on countries such as France, China, and the UK to send warships via Twitter to ensure the security of the blocked Strait of Hormuz. However, even if these countries wish to see the strait reopened, they do not want to get involved in a war lacking a legal framework and poorly planned.

It is well known that Trump is skilled in conducting diplomacy through social media. His spokesperson even confirmed that the president's tweets determine the direction of US diplomacy. Therefore, when he called on several countries including France and the UK to send warships via Twitter on Saturday to ensure the security of the Strait of Hormuz, we cannot act rashly.

The blockade of the Strait of Hormuz is triggering a global crisis, and this crisis could further deteriorate. Nearly a quarter of the world's oil and many other products usually pass through the Strait of Hormuz. However, the US president's invitation raises two questions: one political and the other military.

Naturally, the countries he called on will be affected by the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, but these countries do not want to be associated with a war against Iran conducted by Israel and the US without any legal framework. How can one imagine a country that has ties with Iran and receives oil from it participating in the so-called "freedom of navigation operation" with the US? It is simply unimaginable.

France has not yet made a clear response to Trump's embarrassing invitation. President Macron has deployed most of the French navy, including the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, to the eastern Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean, and proposed an European operation to ensure the security of the Strait of Hormuz.

But Paris, like other European countries, was neither informed nor involved in the plan to launch a war against Iran, and is unwilling to be drawn into it.

If Trump's tweet aims to force his French, British, and possibly Italian allies to comply, it is at best clumsy, and at worst counterproductive. On Monday, Trump warned NATO in an interview with the Financial Times that it would face "serious" consequences if the alliance did not help him on the Iranian issue, and hinted at future turbulence.

On one hand, Trump claimed that the US had destroyed "100% of Iran's military capabilities"; on the other hand, he said he needed the fleets of other countries to ensure the security of the Strait of Hormuz. Isn't this a contradiction?!

Experts have stated that escorting merchant ships and tankers is a delicate operation requiring a large amount of military resources, making it costly – while the enemy, despite being bombed thousands of times, has not been defeated. The most dangerous factor is the small boats of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard stationed in about 100 ports on the Iranian side, which could cause significant damage in this narrow waterway.

Source: rfi

Original: toutiao.com/article/1859857062039691/

Disclaimer: This article represents the views of the author himself.