UK, France to Host Summit to Secure Maritime Routes Through Hormuz

(MENAFN) Britain and France will jointly host a summit this week, bringing together nations prepared to back a multinational mission aimed at restoring freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, the two countries' leaders announced Monday.

Writing on X, French President Emmanuel Macron outlined plans for a "peaceful multinational mission" to secure maritime routes through the critical waterway, stressing the effort would be "strictly defensive" and entirely separate from all parties involved in the conflict. He added that the mission is intended to be deployed "as soon as circumstances permit."

The joint announcement landed hours after US President Donald Trump declared a naval blockade on Iranian ports, set to take effect at 1400 GMT Monday — itself a direct consequence of stalled diplomacy. Rare direct talks between Washington and Tehran, held over the weekend in Islamabad, had sought to bring an end to the war that erupted on Feb. 28, but the negotiations failed to produce an agreement.

Macron made clear the stakes of inaction, insisting that "no effort must be spared" to reach a swift and enduring diplomatic resolution. He called for a regional framework that would allow all parties to coexist in peace and security, and outlined the pillars any lasting settlement must address — Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programs, its regional activities, and the imperative to restore "free and unimpeded navigation" in the Strait of Hormuz. Macron also underscored the need to stabilize Lebanon, calling for the country's return to peace with full respect for its sovereignty and territorial integrity. Paris, he affirmed, stands ready to "play its full part" in both diplomatic and security efforts — a commitment he said France has upheld since the earliest days of the conflict.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer did not mince words on X, describing the waterway's continued closure as an acute threat to global economic stability.

"The ongoing closure of the Strait of Hormuz is deeply damaging. Getting global shipping moving is vital to ease cost of living pressures," Starmer said.

London has already convened dozens of like-minded nations around the shared objective of restoring open navigation, he added. The summit this week, Starmer said, will work toward a "coordinated, independent, multinational plan" to protect international shipping once hostilities ease — forming a central pillar of the broader Franco-British drive for a diplomatic resolution to the escalating Middle East crisis.

MENAFN13042026000045017169ID1110974886