The French armed forces announced on Wednesday that the aircraft carrier group Charles de Gaulle is heading towards the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden as part of a joint effort between France and Britain to prepare for a future mission aimed at reinforcing freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.
Reuters reported the French Ministry of the Armed Forces stating in a press release that the carrier group transited the Suez Canal and is heading towards the southern Red Sea.
The group was deployed to the eastern Mediterranean after the US and Israel launched a war against Iran, and it can remain at sea for four to five months.
Iran launches new Strait of Hormuz website
Iran launched a new website aimed at asserting its control over the Strait of Hormuz, according to CNN.
The website is part of Iran’s plan to impose fees for safe passage through the strait, and comes after the launch yesterday of a new regulatory body to manage traffic through the strategic waterway.
CNN noted that the website, bearing the official domain name “.ir,” is currently empty, displaying only the address “Welcome to the Strait of Hormuz Authority. Islamic Republic of Iran.”
According to a report broadcast by the Iranian state-run Press TV on Tuesday, under the new system, all ships intending to transit the Strait of Hormuz will receive an email from an address associated with the Strait of Hormuz Authority informing them of the new rules and regulations for passage.
Progress in peace talks
US President Donald Trump posted a new statement on his Truth Social platform addressing developments related to the war with Iran, as well as updates on the ongoing negotiations to reach a final and comprehensive agreement between the two sides.
In his statement, Trump said that, at the request of Pakistan and several other countries, and in light of what he described as the “great military success” achieved during the campaign against Iran, as well as the progress made in the negotiation process, preliminary understandings had been reached between the parties involved.
The US president explained that these understandings stipulate, while the embargo remains fully in place, a temporary suspension of the “Freedom Flotilla” project, which pertains to the movement of ships through the Strait of Hormuz, in order to allow for the completion of ongoing negotiations and to ensure the possibility of reaching a final agreement.
