PARIS (AP) 鈥� The leaders of France and the U.K. on Friday welcomed the announcement by Iran and the U.S. that the is open, but said freedom of navigation must be permanently restored to the key oil route choked by the .
President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Keir Starmer said they would keep planning an international mission to restore maritime security, which Starmer said will be deployed 鈥渁s soon as conditions allow.鈥� They said military planners will meet in London next week.
Speaking after a gathering of some 50 countries and international organizations, Macron said 鈥渨e all demand the full, immediate and unconditional reopening of the Strait of Hormuz by all parties.鈥�
As the meeting was underway, U.S. President Donald Trump and Iran鈥檚 foreign minister declared the strait open to commercial vessels. Oil prices plunged after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi posted on X that passage for commercial vessels would remain 鈥渃ompletely open鈥� for the duration of a 10-day ceasefire in Lebanon.
Trump in an all-caps social media post said that the of Iranian ships and ports would remain in force 鈥淯NTIL SUCH TIME AS OUR TRANSACTION WITH IRAN IS 100% COMPLETE.鈥�
Starmer cautiously welcomed the announcement, but said it must become 鈥渂oth lasting and a workable proposal.鈥�
The Paris meeting is part of attempts by sidelined nations to ease the impact of a conflict they didn鈥檛 start and haven鈥檛 joined, but that has sent the . Petroleum prices soared after the war started on Feb. 28, when Iran effectively shut the narrow strait through which a fifth of the world鈥檚 oil usually passes.
The U.S. is not part of the planning for what has been branded the Strait of Hormuz Maritime Freedom of Navigation Initiative, which Macron said would be 鈥渁 neutral mission, entirely separate from the belligerents to escort and secure the merchant ships transiting the Gulf.鈥�
Starmer, facing , was greeted by Macron in the courtyard of the Elysee presidential palace on Friday afternoon. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni also attended in person. Others, including the prime ministers of Australia and Canada, the South Korean and Ukrainian presidents and representatives of China and India, joined by video.
Military planning underway
In an echo of assembled to provide security for Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire in that war, Starmer said that along with France, the U.K. will lead a multinational mission to protect freedom of navigation as soon as conditions allow.
鈥淭his will be strictly peaceful and defensive, as a mission to reassure commercial shipping and support mine clearance,” he said.
He said more than a dozen countries had agreed to contribute assets, far fewer than in the wider Hormuz coalition.
Britain has discussed using mine-hunting drones, deployed from the ship RFA Lyme Bay.
The war has highlighted the shrunken state of the Royal Navy, which has deployed just one major warship, the destroyer HMS Dragon, to the eastern Mediterranean. France, which has the EU鈥檚 most powerful military, to the region, alongside a helicopter carrier and several frigates.
Meloni said she had expressed Italy鈥檚 鈥渨illingness to make its naval units available,” while Merz said Germany could contribute mine clearance and maritime intelligence capabilities to such a mission, but would need parliamentary support and a 鈥硈ecure legal basis鈥� such as a U.N. Security Council resolution.
He said Germany, 鈥砳f possible, would also like to see the United States of America participate; we believe this would be desirable.鈥�
That’s a departure from Macron, who has said the mission will involve countries not involved in the conflict.
Macron’s office said roles for members of the coalition could include 鈥渋ntelligence, mine-clearing capabilities, military escorts (and) communication procedures with coastal states.鈥�
Sidharth Kaushal, a research fellow in sea power at the Royal United Services Institute think tank, said mine-clearing and creating a warning system for maritime threats were more likely roles for the coalition than warships escorting commercial tankers through the strait.
鈥淵ou need huge numbers of vessels for that sort of thing, which nobody has,鈥� he said.
Trump dismisses NATO as 鈥榩aper tiger鈥�
Iran expert Ellie Geranmayeh, deputy head of the Middle East and North Africa program at the European Council on Foreign Relations think tank, said mine-clearing is an area where European countries and their partners could play a role.
鈥淭hey would be a better party to do this than the United States, because once you have U.S. military doing this and lingering on Iranian shores, it creates a potential arena for Iran and the U.S. to have miscalculations and get back into a sort of military tension,鈥� she said.
The operation is partly a response to Trump, who has berated allies for failing to join the war. The president has called allies 鈥渃owards,鈥� said NATO 鈥渨asn鈥檛 there when we needed them鈥� and telling Britain: 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 even have a navy.鈥�
Kaushal said European countries were likely trying 鈥渢o demonstrate the ability to provide security in a way that鈥檚 distinct from, if not completely separate from, the U.S. and which also demonstrates a capacity for independent action.鈥�
鈥淗ow many states actually have spare capacity to offer to this is a pretty open question.鈥�
Trump appeared dismissive of European offers of help, though he referred to NATO rather than the Franco-British-led coalition.
鈥淣ow that the Hormuz Strait situation is over, I received a call from NATO asking if we would need some help. I TOLD THEM TO STAY AWAY, UNLESS THEY JUST WANT TO LOAD UP THEIR SHIPS WITH OIL,” he posted on social media.
鈥淭hey were useless when needed, a Paper Tiger!鈥�
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Lawless reported from London. Associated Press writer John Leicester in Paris contributed to this report.
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