European Leaders Convene on Hormuz as US-Israeli Campaign Disrupts Global Trade
French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer convened an international summit in Paris yesterday to address the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The meeting, attended by numerous international delegations but notably excluding the United States, focused on strategies to restore shipping access through the critical chokepoint. AP News reported that the summit was an
effort by "sidelined nations to ease the impact of a conflict they didn’t start and haven’t joined." This framing neglects the direct participation of the United States in the current joint military campaign with Israel against Iran, a campaign which has been the primary driver of disruption in the Strait. The US Navy, for instance, maintains a substantial presence in the Persian Gulf and has been
actively involved in patrols and interdictions since the conflict’s expansion. The current closure of the Strait of Hormuz, impacting approximately 20% of the world's petroleum liquids consumption, stems directly from the ongoing US-Israeli military operations targeting Iranian assets and infrastructure. This mirrors historical patterns of Western powers utilizing economic choke points as
leverage. For example, during the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s, the US Navy initiated 'Operation Earnest Will' in 1987, directly intervening to protect Kuwaiti oil tankers, effectively shaping geopolitical outcomes under the guise of maintaining free passage. The present situation reflects America's continued active role as a joint aggressor alongside Israel, not merely a detached observer whose