Macron, Starmer to chair conference on defensive Hormuz mission on Friday, Elysee says

PARIS: France and Britain will co-host a video conference Friday of countries ready to contribute to a “purely defensive mission” to secure the Strait of Hormuz, the French president’s office said.
President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will co-chair the meeting to discuss a plan to “restore freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz when security conditions allow,” the Elysee said on Tuesday.
A spokesman for the British prime minister’s office said: “The summit will advance work toward a coordinated, independent, multinational plan to safeguard international shipping once the conflict ends.”
UK Prime Minister Starmer said Monday that Britain had convened more than 40 nations.
Macron said in early March that France and its allies were preparing a “defensive” mission to reopen the strategically vital waterway. He has however ruled out vessel escorts under “bombings.”
“Several dozen countries have already taken part in preparatory work led in particular by the chiefs of staff to define the framework for such a mission,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told Radio France Internationale on Tuesday.
“It is a matter of coordinating with the coastal states,” he added.
US-Israeli strikes on Iran in late February sparked a region-wide war and brought traffic through the Strait of Hormuz to a near standstill, blocking a key route for global oil and gas shipments.
Iran and the United States last week agreed to a two-week cessation of hostilities, but ceasefire talks between the warring sides in Pakistan over the weekend ended in failure.
US President Donald Trump responded by ordering his navy to carry out a blockade of Iranian ports along the Strait of Hormuz starting Monday.