French ship becomes first western vessel allowed through Strait of Hormuz since start of Iran war after Macron blasts Trump for strategy and 'inelegant' remarks about wife Brigitte

By ANDREW JEHRING, CHIEF FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT Published: 23:41, 3 April 2026 | Updated: 23:43, 3 April 2026 A French ship became the first western vessel allowed to pass through the Strait of Hormuz yesterday after Emmanuel Macron criticised Donald Trump. The container ship is the only vessel owned by a major western shipping line to have made safe passage since the Iran war erupted five weeks ago. It was unclear last night why it was permitted given Tehran has warned the waterway remains closed to 'enemies'. France's Foreign Ministry declined to comment, but three more vessels from Oman firms were also waved through as was one from Japan. The ship belonged to French group CMA CGM which is owned by Franco-Lebanese billionaire Rodolphe Saade who is close to Mr Macron. It came just a day after the French President told Donald Trump he needs to get 'serious' about opening up the Strait and told him: 'Perhaps you shouldn't talk every day.' But the US leader took little notice, and on Friday reverted to boasting that he could force open the vital shipping lane alone - having called on Europe to do it for him just 24 hours earlier. Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform: 'With a little more time, we can easily OPEN THE HORMUZ STRAIT, TAKE THE OIL, & MAKE A FORTUNE. IT WOULD BE A 'GUSHER' FOR THE WORLD???' The UN Security Council had been due to debate a resolution drafted by Bahrain with the support of Arab nations in the Gulf yesterday to authorise military action to reopen the Strait. The passage of the ship came just a day after the French President Emmanuel Macron told Donald Trump he needs to get 'serious' about opening up the Strait and told him: 'Perhaps you shouldn't talk every day.' Pictured: The  French owned CMA CGM container ship which is the only vessel owned by a major western shipping line to have made safe passage since the Iran war erupted five weeks ago However it was pulled following reports that France, China and Russia had effectively stymied the motion saying they opposed any language authorising force. All three countries have veto powers while there were also divisions from 10 further countries without veto power, diplomats told the New York Times. No explanation was given and the UN said it would inform press of the new date 'as soon as it is officially determined'. With Iran's chokehold over the vital shipping lane through which a fifth of global oil passes driving a global economic meltdown, world leaders are desperately seeking a solution. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky yesterday offered assistance in reopening the Strait using his experience breaking Russia's siege. He suggested it would require drone interceptors, military convoys and electronic warfare and told allies: 'We stand ready to help with this.' The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.