While merchant ships were struck by Tehran in this crucial trade route on Saturday, April 18, the US president reiterated on Sunday that one of them was French. This claim has since been confirmed by the French shipping company CMA CGM.
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"That wasn't very nice, was it?" This is how Donald Trump first asserted on Sunday that a French ship had been targeted by Tehran. "Iran decided yesterday to fire shots in the Strait of Hormuz... Many of these shots were aimed at a French ship and a British cargo ship," he wrote on his social network, Truth.
Later that day, the US president reaffirmed this to LCI: "Yes, one ship. Just one ship," he stated. The information was finally confirmed Sunday evening by the French shipping company CMA CGM. The Marseille-based company stated in a brief press release that the ship's crew "is safe and sound."
The previous day, commercial vessels had indeed come under fire and received threats from the Iranian military as they attempted to transit the Strait of Hormuz. Iran had once again closed this crucial trade route after a brief reopening, asserting its intention to regain "strict control."
According to the British maritime security agency UKMTO, speedboats belonging to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) fired on an oil tanker. The ship and crew are safe, according to this source. The vessel in question is the Sanmar Herald, flying the Indian flag, according to the intelligence firm Vanguard Tech.
French Ships Forced to Turn Back
Another ship, the Maltese-flagged Mein Schiff 4, which was transiting near Oman, reported a projectile falling nearby, according to Vanguard. In a third incident, the UKMTO reported a container ship that "was reportedly hit by an unidentified projectile, causing damage to some containers."
Four container ships belonging to French interests and bearing the name of the shipping company CMA CGM turned back on Saturday around 10:00 GMT after beginning to exit the Strait of Gibraltar, according to the MarineTraffic tracking platform. According to Le Marin, two Iranian patrol boats headed towards one of them, the CMA CGM Galapagos.
When asked about the need for French naval intervention, Donald Trump told LCI: "I don't know, that depends on your wonderful president." "It's up to him to make that decision, not me." The American president also expressed disappointment with his allies' response, while nevertheless asserting that he "fully has the situation under control."
