LONDON: The UK and France will on Tuesday (Could 12) host a multinational assembly of defence ministers on army plans to revive commerce flows via the Strait of Hormuz, the British authorities mentioned.
The announcement got here hours after Iran warned London and Paris in opposition to sending warships to the area.
“The Defence Secretary John Healey will co-chair a gathering of over 40 nations, alongside his French counterpart, Minister Catherine Vautrin, for the multinational mission’s first Defence Minister’s assembly,” a British defence ministry assertion mentioned on Sunday.
The digital assembly follows a two-day gathering in London in April of army planners who thrashed out the practicalities of a multinational mission led by the UK and France to guard navigation in the important thing waterway following a sustainable ceasefire.
“We’re turning diplomatic settlement into sensible army plans to revive confidence for transport via the Strait of Hormuz,” Healey mentioned.
It comes as France and Britain despatched warships to the Center East.
France has despatched its nuclear-powered plane service, the Charles de Gaulle, to the area, and the UK on Saturday mentioned it was sending a destroyer, HMS Dragon.
Each international locations mentioned the deployments had been a “pre-positioning” forward of any worldwide mission to assist defend transport.
IRAN’S WARNING
HMS Dragon’s deployment was a part of “prudent planning” that might make sure the UK was prepared to assist safe the strait when circumstances allowed, a ministry spokesperson informed AFP.
However Iran’s Deputy International Minister Kazem Gharibabadi earlier on Sunday warned Britain and France their warships – “or these of some other nation” – would meet “a decisive and speedy response”.
“Solely the Islamic Republic of Iran can set up safety on this strait,” Gharibabadi mentioned.
Macron mentioned later Sunday that France had “by no means envisaged” a naval deployment within the Strait of Hormuz however relatively a safety mission that might be “coordinated with Iran”.
Chatting with journalists in Nairobi, he mentioned he was sticking to his place opposing a blockade from both facet, and to “reject any toll” to make sure ships are capable of go via the strategic waterway.
Britain and France mentioned final month that plans to safe the strait had been coming collectively.
The British defence ministry mentioned deploying HMS Dragon would strengthen the arrogance of economic transport and assist mine clearance efforts as soon as hostilities finish.
Earlier than the US-Israel conflict on Iran began on February 28, a couple of fifth of the world’s oil was shipped via the strait.
However that has been throttled because the conflict as Iran largely closed the strait, throwing international markets into turmoil and driving up oil costs. The US later imposed its personal blockade of Iranian ports in response.
