French President Emmanuel Macron said Wednesday he had "no confirmation" Iran was laying sea mines in the Strait of Hormuz following reports Tehran was mining the key waterway virtually closed by the Middle East war."I have no confirmation of this, either from partner services or from our own services," Macron said after a video call with G7 leaders.
The United States said Tuesday it had destroyed Iranian mine-laying boats near the strategic waterway through which one-fifth of the world's oil passes.
Macron added that Iran's military capabilities had been weakened but not "reduced to zero" in US and Israeli strikes on the Islamic republic.
"Considerable damage has already been inflicted on Iran's military ballistic capabilities, but it continues to attack several countries in the region, and therefore its capabilities have not been reduced to zero," he said.
He added that he left it up to US President Donald Trump to "clarify both his ultimate objectives and the pace he wants to set for operations" launched with Israel on February 28.
