Navigation through the Strait of Hormuz — the narrow waterway through which roughly a fifth of the world’s oil passes daily — remains paralyzed. Iran has reasserted control over the strategically vital passage just days before the expiration of a fragile ceasefire with the United States, turning it into what analysts describe as a geopolitical “lever” in ongoing negotiations.
Iran’s chief negotiator, Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf, acknowledged that while recent talks with Washington have made progress, fundamental differences remain on nuclear issues and the status of the strait. U.S. President Donald Trump spoke of “very good discussions” with Tehran, but neither side offered specifics. The uncertainty is sending ripples far beyond the Persian Gulf, directly affecting European energy calculations and defense postures.
It is precisely this issue that brings French President Emmanuel Macron to Athens. His visit to the Greek capital is expected to yield a renewed defense and security cooperation agreement between France and Greece, with maritime security — and specifically the Hormuz crisis — high on the agenda. For Greece, a major shipping nation, the paralysis of a critical global shipping lane is not an abstract geopolitical concern but an immediate economic one.
