The UK and France will host a multinational meeting of defense ministers on Tuesday to discuss military plans to restore trade flows through the Strait of Hormuz, the British government announced. TASR informed about it according to the report of the AFP agency.
- The UK and France are convening a multinational meeting of defense ministers on Tuesday.
- Forty countries are planning a mission to protect shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
- Britain sent the destroyer HMS Dragon, France deployed the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle.
- Iran threatens an immediate military response to the presence of foreign warships.
- Before the war, a fifth of the world’s oil supplies passed through the Strait of Hormuz.
The announcement came hours after Iran warned London and Paris against sending warships to the region.
Mission planning
“Defence Secretary John Healey will co-chair with French Minister Catherine Vautrin the first meeting of defense ministers from more than 40 countries involved in the multinational mission,” Britain’s Ministry of Defense said on Sunday.
The virtual talks follow a two-day meeting of military planners in London in April, where practical aspects of a multinational mission led by Britain and France to protect shipping in the strategic strait were discussed after a permanent ceasefire was reached.
Deployment of warships
“We are turning a diplomatic agreement into practical military plans to restore confidence in shipping through the Strait of Hormuz,” Healey said.
Meanwhile, both France and Britain have sent military vessels to the area. Paris deployed the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, while London announced the deployment of the destroyer HMS Dragon on Saturday.
Both countries emphasized that this is a “preliminary deployment” before a possible international mission to protect shipping.
Iranian warning
The deployment of HMS Dragon is part of “prudent planning” to ensure the UK is ready to help secure the Straits when conditions allow, according to the UK Ministry of Defence.
But Iran’s State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Kazem Gharibabadi warned on Sunday that British and French warships – “or vessels of any other country” – would be met with a “decisive and immediate response”.
Macron’s attitude
“Only the Islamic Republic of Iran can ensure security in this strait,” Gharibabadi said.
French President Emmanuel Macron later declared in Nairobi that France “never considered” a naval deployment directly in the Strait of Hormuz, but a security mission that would be “coordinated with Iran.”
At the same time, Macron reiterated his opposition to a blockade by any country and rejected any “toll” for the passage of ships through the strategic waterway.
Global impacts of the conflict
Before the start of the war between the US, Israel and Iran on February 28, about a fifth of the world’s oil supply passed through the Strait of Hormuz. However, the conflict has severely limited traffic as Iran has largely closed the strait, causing turbulence in global markets and rising oil prices. The United States subsequently responded with its own blockade of Iranian ports.
