{"id":78174,"date":"2026-07-07T07:00:23","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T07:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/78174\/"},"modified":"2026-07-07T07:00:23","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T07:00:23","slug":"uk-and-france-to-launch-mission-to-secure-strait-of-hormuz-within-days","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/78174\/","title":{"rendered":"UK and France to launch mission to secure Strait of Hormuz within days"},"content":{"rendered":"

A multinational armada of warships<\/a> is expected to arrive in the Strait of Hormuz within days to protect commercial shipping from Iranian threats<\/a>, The National can disclose.<\/p>\n

Western defence officials say the naval force will be led by Britain and France, working closely with Oman, to secure the vital waterway. <\/p>\n

The launch of a mission within Omani waters was confirmed after a joint statement issued by France and the UK. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron said restoring safe transit was \u201ca matter of global concern\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Sultanate of Oman has agreed to work with the United Kingdom and France to ensure that its sovereign territorial waters are safe for navigation,\u201d the joint statement said. \u201cThe UK and France also stand ready to deploy the wider multinational military mission to support freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.\u201d<\/p>\n

Belgium, which was among the first Nato countries to confirm in March<\/a> it would participate in the French-British led mission, declined to confirm any date. “No political decision has yet been taken on this subject,” the Belgian Defence Ministry told The National. <\/p>\n

With a large number of Nato warships<\/a> already stationed in the Arabian Sea, it is understood the latest fleet would be able to deploy rapidly for the operation. <\/p>\n

A key task will be clearing the estimated 80 mines laid by the Iranians across the 34km-wide strait that has been under various levels of blockade since the US-led war began in February.<\/p>\n

The move comes as European Nato members are expected to seek to appease US President Donald Trump at the leaders’ summit in Ankara, Turkey, that begins on Tuesday. <\/p>\n

Mr Trump has repeatedly railed at Nato for failing to help in Hormuz. The alliance as a whole remains unlikely to launch a new mission. But the naval operation will include heavy Nato participation, with up to 19 members contributing either to deployment or funds. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere was an American perception regarding the war being waged in Iran and the situation in the Strait of Hormuz \u2013 a situation the Europeans had not chosen, of course \u2013 but which the Americans viewed as a lack of solidarity on the part of the Europeans,\u201d an adviser to Mr Macron said.<\/p>\n

The situation in the Strait of Hormuz is to be discussed at a meeting Wednesday night by members of the Istanbul Cooperative Initiative: the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar.<\/p>\n

Fleet assembles<\/p>\n

Western officials have told The National that a task force will soon be assembled. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe expect the announcement within days to get the strait fully open and get the ships moving,\u201d the source said. \u201cOnce it’s announced, things will move quite quickly. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe primary task is to assure mariners and shipping companies that the Strait of Hormuz is clear of mines and we are assisting to reopen it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since the mid-June ceasefire, traffic through the waterway has gradually resumed but the recovery has been uneven because of mines, security concerns and insurance issues. More than 100 tankers are understood to be awaiting escort through the strait, as well as hundreds of other vessels.<\/p>\n

The US has not said whether its forces in the region will provide assistance but the operation will include warships and minehunters from Nato members such as Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and Norway. \u201cThere\u2019s a whole host of nations that are going to contribute to this,\u201d the source said.<\/p>\n

Mr Starmer\u2019s spokesman said the operation would include \u201csupporting demining in co-ordination with the Omanis and Iranians as appropriate if assistance is required and when conditions allow\u201d.<\/p>\n

Minehunter mother ship<\/p>\n

The mission is expected to rely on specialist mine-warfare vessels, destroyers, frigates and support ships although France has withdrawn its carrier strike force from the area. <\/p>\n

Britain\u2019s main asset will be Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship Lyme Bay that will be used for the first time as a \u201cminehunting mother ship\u201d, with an array of drones that can seek and destroy the weapons. They will be joined by mine-clearance divers and Merlin helicopters equipped for warfare and surveillance.<\/p>\n

The air-defence destroyer HMS Dragon will provide strong surface support alongside French frigates, destroyers and minehunters.<\/p>\n

\u2018In Iran\u2019s gift\u2019<\/p>\n

A \u201ccoalition of the willing\u201d of 38 nations gave political backing to the proposed mission at a defence ministers\u2019 meeting in May, although not all pledged to supply ships.<\/p>\n

The coalition, which includes vessels from Italy, Denmark and Canada, is described as strictly defensive. In addition to detecting and neutralising mines, it will provide merchant ship protection, air defence and co-ordination with Omani authorities.<\/p>\n

But former Royal Navy commander Tom Sharpe, who transited the strait regularly in warships, said safe crossing was \u201cin Iran\u2019s gift\u201d as it still had a force of drones, fast attack craft and anti-ship cruise missiles to threaten shipping. <\/p>\n

\u201cTeaming up with Oman is important, because Iran’s counter statement to all of this was very aggressive about non-local countries getting involved. But this force will reassure shipping companies and it can provide options and perhaps make Iran think twice about its actions.\u201d <\/p>\n

Nick Hopton, former ambassador to Iran, said there was now \u201ca need to make the waterway safe for international traffic\u201d following Tehran and Washington\u2019s agreement. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe UK and France are well placed to lead this effort given their maritime capabilities and that they were not combatants in the war,\u201d said the senior fellow at the Rusi think tank. \u201cThe UK has a long and very close relationship with the Sultanate of Oman and can work closely with them to ensure that whatever arrangements are agreed for the future of the strait, they respect the international laws governing free passage.\u201d<\/p>\n

The coalition will likely use Oman’s Port of Duqm as its principal logistics hub, taking advantage of the Royal Navy’s existing support base and the port’s large repair facilities. Forward operations could be staged from Muscat, Sohar or Omani facilities on the Musandam Peninsula. <\/p>\n

Middle ground<\/p>\n

During a visit to Paris<\/a> last week, which was followed by a stopover in London, Oman\u2019s Sultan Haitham gave assurances that he remained committed to the law of the sea. It ensures freedom of navigation and the right of transit passage without impediment. States bordering straits are also expected not to hamper transit passage. <\/p>\n

There had been apprehension in Paris that Oman was considering charging fees alongside Iran though disagreements rapidly appeared between the two countries over approved routes. Oman and Iran lie across each other, separated by the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n

Oman remains under heavy pressure from the international community to try to find a way out of the situation as Iran remains intent on charging fees. A 60-day period of free passage was agreed on June 18 in the Iran-US memorandum of understanding but it remains unclear what will happen next.<\/p>\n

Reacting to the joint British-French statement issued Friday, Iranian deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi issued what he described as a \u201cserious warning.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIran, as the responsible power and guarantor of the Strait’s security, warns with sensitivity to any military movement in this waterway,\u201d he said, in an apparent reference to the joint French-British naval operation.<\/p>\n

Oman is understood to have suggested a middle ground to France but the details of its proposal remains under wraps. It appears to resemble the system set up between Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore in the Strait of Malacca. They charge vessels for any navigation and security services that are needed with a fund that collects voluntary contributions for safe navigation.<\/p>\n

As of now, neither Iran, Oman, nor any other states has requested a modification to the Traffic Separation Scheme, a maritime traffic management system managed by the International Maritime Organisation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A multinational armada of warships is expected to arrive in the Strait of Hormuz within days to protect…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":78175,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[4],"tags":[6086,1815,252,42,2066,330,3040,5,3041,6],"class_list":["post-78174","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-uk","tag-arabian-gulf","tag-defence","tag-europe","tag-middle-east","tag-shipping","tag-standard","tag-story","tag-uk","tag-uk-bureau","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@UnitedKingdom\/116877408560514077","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78174","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=78174"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78174\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/78175"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=78174"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=78174"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=78174"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}