UK’s Starmer says more than a dozen countries ready to join Hormuz defensive mission

PARIS, April 17 (Reuters) – More than a dozen countries are ready to contribute assets to a defense mission aimed at restoring freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Friday.

France and Britain chaired a meeting of 49 countries in Paris to discuss preparations for a possible multinational defense mission to protect shipping in the Strait of Hormuz when conditions permit.

“We will take this forward with a military planning conference in London next week where we will announce more details about the composition of the mission, and more than a dozen countries have already offered to contribute assets,” Starmer told reporters alongside the leaders of France, Germany and Italy.

“Reopening the Strait is a global necessity and a global responsibility,” he said.

(Reporting by John Irish in Paris and Sam Tabahriti in London, Editing by William James)