{"id":951885,"date":"2026-05-11T04:45:27","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T04:45:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/951885\/"},"modified":"2026-05-11T04:45:27","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T04:45:27","slug":"uk-france-to-host-defense-ministers-meeting-on-hormuz-amid-iran-threats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/951885\/","title":{"rendered":"UK, France to host defense ministers meeting on Hormuz, amid Iran threats"},"content":{"rendered":"

LONDON, United Kingdom \u2014 The UK and France will on Tuesday host a multinational meeting of defense ministers on military plans to restore trade flows through the Strait of Hormuz, the British government said.<\/p>\n

The announcement came hours after Iran warned London and Paris against sending warships to the region.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Defence Secretary John Healey will co-chair a meeting of over 40 nations, alongside his French counterpart, Minister Catherine Vautrin, for the multinational mission\u2019s first Defence Minister\u2019s meeting,\u201d a British defense ministry statement said Sunday.<\/p>\n

The virtual meeting follows a two-day gathering in London in April of military planners who thrashed out the practicalities of a multinational mission led by the UK and France to protect navigation in the key waterway following a sustainable ceasefire.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are turning diplomatic agreement into practical military plans to restore confidence for shipping through the Strait of Hormuz,\u201d Healey said.<\/p>\n

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It comes as France and Britain dispatched warships to the Middle East.<\/p>\n

France has sent its nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the Charles de Gaulle, to the region, and the UK on Saturday said it was sending a destroyer, HMS Dragon.<\/p>\n

Both countries said the deployments were a \u201cpre-positioning\u201d ahead of any international mission to help protect shipping.<\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s warning<\/p>\n

HMS Dragon\u2019s deployment was part of \u201cprudent planning\u201d that would ensure the UK was ready to help secure the strait when conditions allowed, a ministry spokesperson told AFP.<\/p>\n

But Iran\u2019s deputy foreign minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, earlier Sunday warned Britain and France their warships \u2014 \u201cor those of any other country\u201d \u2014 would meet \u201ca decisive and immediate response.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tA photo illustration taken in Nicosia on May 4, 2026, shows a person in front of a large screen displaying vessel movements in the Strait of Hormuz on a ship-tracking website. (AFP)<\/p>\n

\u201cOnly the Islamic Republic of Iran can establish security in this strait,\u201d Gharibabadi said.<\/p>\n

Macron said later Sunday that France had never envisaged\u201d a naval deployment in the Strait of Hormuz, but rather a security mission that would be \u201ccoordinated with Iran.\u201d<\/p>\n

Speaking to journalists in Nairobi, he said he was sticking to his position opposing a blockade from either side, and to \u201creject any toll\u201d to ensure ships are able to pass through the strategic waterway.<\/p>\n

Britain and France said last month that plans to secure the strait were coming together.<\/p>\n

The British defense ministry said deploying HMS Dragon would strengthen the confidence of commercial shipping and support mine clearance efforts once hostilities end.<\/p>\n

Before the US-Israel war on Iran started on February 28, about a fifth of the world\u2019s oil was shipped through the strait.<\/p>\n

But that has been throttled since the war as Iran largely closed the strait, throwing global markets into turmoil and driving up oil prices. The US later imposed its own blockade of Iranian ports in response.<\/p>\n


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