France, March 20 -- "I express the hope that the fighting will cease and that a ceasefire can be agreed," Macron said after a European Union summit in Brussels.

"I haven't heard anyone express a willingness to get involved in this conflict," he added. "I don't think an escalation would resolve the international situation."

France, Britain, Germany, Italy, Japan and the Netherlands issued a joint statement on Thursday;

"We condemn in the strongest terms recent attacks by Iran on unarmed commercial vessels in the Gulf, attacks on civilian infrastructure including oil and gas installations, and the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iranian forces," it said. 

"We express our deep concern about the escalating conflict. ...