While the Middle East dominates headlines, another confrontation is playing out in the Mediterranean. The French Navy on Thursday boarded the Deyna, a Mozambique-flagged tanker alleged to be part of Russia’s so-called shadow fleet — the network of aging, often poorly insured vessels used to circumvent Western sanctions on Russian oil.
President Emmanuel Macron confirmed the seizure in a pointed message: “The war in Iran will not divert France from its support for Ukraine, where Russia’s war of aggression continues.” The statement underscored Paris’s determination to fight on two geopolitical fronts simultaneously — countering Russian sanctions evasion even as the Middle East crisis absorbs increasing attention and resources.