LIVE – Middle East: the shipowner Maersk claims that one of its ships left the Strait of Hormuz under American escort

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“Operation ‘Epic Fury’ is over as the president has indicated to Congress. We have passed this stage,” declared the head of American diplomacy Marco Rubio on Tuesday during a press conference at the White House.

The head of American diplomacy Marco Rubio wanted to put tensions with the Vatican into perspective on Tuesday over the war in Iran, before his meeting with the Pope on Thursday. “This is a trip that we had planned before and obviously things happened,” he said during a press conference at the White House. “There are many things to discuss with the Vatican,” added the Secretary of State, a practicing Catholic, referring in particular to freedom of religion.

Foreign Minister Jean-Noela affirmed to the Lebanese Minister of Justice his demand for justice for the French soldiers who were members of UNIFIL killed in Lebanon.

“The armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran have not carried out any missile or drone operations against the United Arab Emirates in recent days,” said the spokesperson for the headquarters of the armed forces command Khatam Al-Anbiya, quoted by the television of State. The Emirates said on Tuesday that they had activated their air defense for the second day in a row against missiles and drones fired from Iran.

“If such action had been taken, we would have announced it firmly and clearly. Therefore, the report from the Ministry of Defense of this country is categorically denied and totally unfounded,” insisted the spokesperson.

“The Israeli army remains on high alert on all fronts. We are monitoring developments closely” in the Gulf, and “are ready to respond forcefully to any attempt to harm Israel,” the leader said on Tuesday. of staff of the Israeli army, Eyal Zamir.

“We are closely monitoring developments in Iran, and are prepared to deploy the entire air force to the east if necessary,” said General Omer Tischler, new head of the Israeli air force.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on Tuesday promised a “firm response” to ships attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz other than by the route they impose. “We warn all ships considering crossing the Strait of Hormuz that the only safe passage is the corridor previously announced by Iran,” the Islamic Republic’s Ideological Army said in a statement. “Any diversion of ships to other routes is dangerous and will result in a firm response from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Navy,” according to the statement published by state television.

Iran immediately warned that it would retaliate if ships entered the Strait of Hormuz. This is what happened with missile launches filmed and published by the Revolutionary Guards, after Donald Trump launched his “Project Freedom” operation on Monday, May 4. Note that more than 900 boats are still blocked in the area. Our journalist takes stock of LCI.

Crude prices are easing, while remaining at a high level. At 6:00 p.m., Brent from the North Sea, the benchmark for crude in Europe, was trading at 110.61 dollars (-3.35%). Its American equivalent of WTI was at 102.25 dollars (-3.92%).

World stock markets are moving forward on Tuesday, benefiting from a certain calm in oil prices after the surge the day before, while digesting company results. In Europe, Paris took 1.08%, Frankfurt 1.71% and Milan 2.27%. These three indices had respectively lost 1.71%, 1.24% and 1.59% on Monday. London was the only place in the red (-1.40%). It was closed on Monday and therefore included, one day late, the events of the day before. In New York, around 4:00 p.m. GMT, the Dow Jones gained 0.54%, the Nasdaq 0.91% and the broader S&P 500 index gained 0.73%.

TotalEnergies will “not be able to maintain” its cap on fuel prices in the event of a tax on exceptional oil profits linked to the war in the Middle East, its CEO, Patrick Pouyanné, warned on Tuesday in an interview with the regional press.

On the other hand, he indicated that it was “very likely” that his group would be eligible in 2026 for the surtax on large companies introduced in 2025, due to the exceptional margins of its refining activity. Asked about the summer supply situation, Patrick Pouyanné assures that “there will be no shortage in France”.

“They should do what’s smart, because we don’t want to go out there and kill people. I don’t want to do that,” Trump said during an exchange with reporters in the Oval Office.

“Iran tried to attack our ships,” he said of the current events in the Strait of Hormuz. But “no one can violate the blockade,” adds Donald Trump, comparing it to steel. “The Iranian economy is collapsing.”

“I decided that we had to do this operation for the good of the world,” continues Donald Trump. “Iran absolutely must make an agreement otherwise things will end very quickly,” says the American president. “Iran must make an agreement,” he insists, affirming that the Iranians are talking to the Americans, even if they deny it.

The American president now answers questions from journalists. “I am going to talk about Iran with Xi Jinping (…) I find that China has shown great respect towards us, they do not challenge us,” he assures.

Without American intervention in Iran, the American president asserts that “we would have had an Iran equipped with nuclear weapons and we would perhaps no longer be there. The Middle East would no longer be there, neither would Israel, and they would then have turned to Europe, then to us because they are sick people.”

At the beginning of April, Portugal and four other EU countries (Germany, Spain, Italy and Austria) called for the establishment of a tax on exceptional profits from energy companies, in response to the rise in fuel prices linked to the war in the Middle East. The European Commissioner for the Economy, Valdis Dombrovskis, has since declared that this request was “currently under study”. Even if member states are free to implement such measures at national level, the idea is to evaluate “the possibility of a more coordinated approach at European level”, he added.

The American president speaks in the Oval Office. “We cannot let Iran have nuclear weapons,” he repeats. “We have completely destroyed their nuclear arsenal and it will take them weeks to bring out what has been buried underground,” continues Trump, who says that “the Iranian leaders are sick”. “We beat them” and “they no longer have a navy,” he says.

A salvo of Iranian missiles and drones is heading towards the United Arab Emirates, where the anti-aircraft defense system has been activated. Here is the latest information from Célia Giusfredi, special correspondent for TF1-LCI in Doha.

Questioned this Tuesday at the National Assembly, Sébastien Lecornu recognized that the situation on fuels was “particularly difficult and serious” due to the war in the Middle East, where “we (are) not far from a risk of resumption of fighting”. The government will “change scale” in the face of soaring fuel prices, the Prime Minister also announced.

The American president will speak in a few moments from the Oval Office. Watch the latest information from Sonia Dridi, TF1-LCI correspondent at the White House.

The United Arab Emirates said Tuesday that its air defenses intercepted missiles and drones fired from Iran for a second consecutive day. “The air defense systems of the United Arab Emirates are activated in the face of missile and drone threats”, which “come from Iran”, declared the Ministry of Defense in a press release on X.

The US military announces that 51 ships have turned around due to its blockade established in the Gulf of Oman to prevent commercial ships from entering or leaving Iran.

“Since the announcement of the ceasefire, Iran has attacked commercial ships nine times,” accuses Dan Caine, the chief of staff of the American armies, at a press conference. The American army “is ready to resume major combat operations” if the order is given, he again assured.

“Our blockade (on Iranian ports) remains fully effective. Six ships tried to force it and they all had to turn back,” said US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.

“Two American ships, escorted by American destroyers, have already crossed the Strait of Hormuz,” announces Pete Hegseth. “Iran says it controls the strait, which is not the case,” adds the American Secretary of War. “We want a peaceful operation, but we are ready to defend our people and the ships without the slightest hesitation,” he continues. Washington promises a response “devastating” to any new Iranian strike against a commercial ship.

“Operation Project Freedom is a defensive project that will have a limited duration. Its only mission is to protect commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. We are not looking for combat but it is not a question of innocent ships being attacked,” says Pete Hegseth. Speaking to the press, the American Secretary of War believes that Iran is “clearly the aggressor” which “is exploiting the situation for its financial advantage”. According to him, Tehran is “holding the world economy hostage”.

LCI takes stock of the battle currently underway in the heart of the Strait of Hormuz.

French President Emmanuel Macron will meet with his Iranian counterpart, Massoud Pezechkian, this Tuesday. “I’m talking to the Iranian president just now,” he said during a press conference in Yerevan (Armenia).

The United States decided to restore freedom of movement in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday May 4. This is “Project Freedom” initiated by Donald Trump, which aims to have the ships blocked in the area escorted by the American navy. The Iranians did not hear it that way and decided to retaliate.

“There is no peace that can be negotiated in any office whatsoever if it is based on the law of the strongest, (…) on the threat of bombs or tariffs, on the violation of international law”, reprimands Emmanuel Macron, during a trip to Armenia.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran, Abbas Araghtchi, is visiting China this Tuesday, Iranian diplomacy reports. “During this visit, he will meet with his Chinese counterpart (Wang Yi) and will discuss bilateral relations as well as regional and international news,” she specifies.

An Iranian drone struck the Emirati oil site in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, on Monday. The Gulf country also announced that it had been targeted by four cruise missiles “launched from Iran”, three of which “were intercepted above territorial waters”, and “one fell into the sea”.

“It is precisely because he is an enthusiastic ally (of the United States and Israel) that he is particularly in Iran’s crosshairs,” analyzes LCI’s special envoy in Tel Aviv, Bethsamée Salem.

In a phone interview with ABC News, Donald Trump refused to say whether the ceasefire with Iran was broken after Iran fired on the United Arab Emirates. “Well, I can’t tell you,” replied the American president. “Either we make the right deal or we win very easily. From a military point of view, we have already won,” the leader added. “One way or another, we win,” he insisted again.

The Paris Stock Exchange, and its benchmark index the CAC 40, has crossed the threshold of 8,000 points, settling at 8,009.39 points at 10 a.m. (+0.41%).

Thailand approved on Tuesday an emergency loan of around 400 billion Bahts (more than 10 billion euros), one of the largest in decades, in order to mitigate the economic impacts of the war in the Middle East. This envelope will be mobilized to stimulate domestic spending and ease economic pressure on the population as inflation rises and growth slows. It will also be used to support alternative energies, specifies the Minister of Finance, Ekniti Nitithanprapas.

“The security of maritime navigation and energy transit (via the Strait of Hormuz) has fallen into the hands of the United States and its allies, in defiance of the truce and through the imposition of a blockade,” denounces Mohammad Ghalibaf, the president of the Iranian parliament. “We know very well that the persistence of the current situation is intolerable for the United States; when we have not even started yet,” he still assures.

“We call for an immediate cessation of hostilities and attacks targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure,” Indian diplomatic spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a statement on Tuesday. “We also call for free and unhindered navigation and trade in the Strait of Hormuz, in accordance with international law,” he adds, assuring that his country is “ready to support all efforts towards a peaceful settlement of disputes.”

India, the world’s third largest oil buyer, imports around half of its crude needs via the Strait of Hormuz blocked due to conflict in the Middle East.

“The FAIRFAX ALLIANCE, a US-flagged vehicle-carrying vessel operated by Farrell Lines, Inc., a subsidiary of US carrier Maersk Line Limited (MLL), crossed the Strait of Hormuz and departed the Persian Gulf on May 4,” says Maersk, the Danish container freight giant, in a press release sent to AFP. “The transit took place without incident and all crew members are safe and sound,” specifies the firm.

Calls for de-escalation in the Gulf are increasing, after Iranian-American clashes around the strategic Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s shots towards the United Arab Emirates, the first against a Gulf country in almost a month of truce.

Earlier, French President Emmanuel Macron described Iranian strikes against the Emirates as “unacceptable”, while Saudi Arabia warned of a new “military escalation” in the Gulf. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called on Tehran to “genuinely engage in negotiations” for a long-term diplomatic solution. “Iran must return to the negotiating table and stop holding the region and the world hostage,” added German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

The Islamic Republic “had no plans to target the Emirates”, assured Iranian state television, citing an unidentified senior officer. This officer denounced the consequences of “American military adventurism”, in reference to the operation aimed at unblocking ships trapped in the Gulf by the closure of Hormuz.

French President Emmanuel Macron described as “unacceptable” the Iranian strikes against the United Arab Emirates, which yesterday marked Tehran’s first attacks in more than a month in the war in the Middle East, with drones and cruise missiles.

“The Iranian strikes today (Monday) against Emirati civilian infrastructure are unjustified and unacceptable,” denounced Emmanuel Macron early Tuesday on X, assuring the Emirates of France’s support and calling again for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and security guarantees for the countries of the region.

Hello and welcome to this live broadcast dedicated to the situation in the Middle East. Find the latest information.