Starmer: Dozen nations join mission to reopen Hormuz

Paris, Apr 17 (EFE). – British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Friday that about a dozen countries, including Germany and Italy, have pledged military assets for a defensive multinational mission aimed at securing and reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

Starmer made the announcement in Paris alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, following a conference attended by representatives from around 50 countries to prepare the operation.

«We will take this forward with a military ‌plan conference in London next week where we will announce more detail on the composition of the mission, and over a dozen countries have already offered to contribute assets,» Starmer told reporters.

«Reopening the strait is a global necessity and a global responsibility.»

Both Merz and Meloni expressed their willingness to contribute militarily. However, the German chancellor stressed that Berlin would prefer US participation.

“After the end of hostilities, we can foresee a mission of the German Armed Forces within the framework of an international operation (…) and we would also like to count on the participation of the United States,» Merz said.

Meloni said Italy’s participation would require parliamentary approval and compared the potential Hormuz mission to Italy’s role in the European Union’s Aspides operation, which escorts merchant ships in the Red Sea under threat from Yemen’s Houthi rebels.

«We are focusing on the ships in Hormuz. It is necessary to ensure there are no mines and to reassure the maritime sector,» Meloni said.

Starmer explained that the mission would be led by the United Kingdom and France, would be strictly defensive, and would take place within the framework of a ceasefire that must be consolidated between the United States and Iran.

He did not name the countries that have already pledged military assets but invited «all countries with an interest in maintaining the free flow of world trade» to join the initiative.

Before the conflict, around one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas passed through the Strait of Hormuz.

However, after Iran announced Friday that it would reopen the strait, the main obstacle to the mission could come from the United States.

President Donald Trump recommended that NATO partners stay «away» from the Strait of Hormuz «unless they only want to load their ships with oil.» EFE

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