New Delhi, March 4 -- French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday directed France's nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to set for the Mediterranean from the Baltic Sea to help protect assets amid the war in the Middle East involving the United States, Israel and Iran.

The Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier will go to the Mediterranean while being escorted by frigates and its air wing, Macron said in a prerecorded speech on French television.

This comes at a time when US President Donald Trump rushed to announce that his country will take "immediate steps to safeguard maritime trade" as Iran blocked the Strait of Hormuz.

"And we will continue this effort as much as necessary," Macron noted.

France has already deployed Rafale fighter jets...