Macron and Starmer hold international summit on reopening the Strait of
Hormuz
[April 17, 2026]
By SYLVIE CORBET and JILL LAWLESS
PARIS (AP) — The leaders of France and the U.K. will gather dozens of
countries — but not the United States — on Friday to push forward plans
to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil route choked off by the
U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.
The Paris meeting is part of attempts by sidelined nations to ease the
impact of a conflict they didn’t start and haven’t joined, but that has
sent the global economy reeling. After the war started on Feb. 28, Iran
effectively shut the narrow strait though which a fifth of the world’s
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. In a post on
X ahead of Friday’s conference, French President Emmanuel Macron said
the mission to provide security for shipping through the strait would be
“strictly defensive,” limited to non-belligerent countries and deployed
“when security conditions allow.”
Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer have spearheaded
international efforts to increase diplomatic and economic pressure on
Iran, which Starmer has accused of “holding the world’s economy to
ransom.” U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement of a retaliatory
American blockade of Iranian ports has raised the economic jeopardy even
higher.
“The unconditional and immediate reopening of the Strait is a global
responsibility, and we need to act to get global energy and trade
flowing freely again," Starmer said before the meeting.
Military planning underway
France and Britain also have led military planning meetings, in an echo
of the “coalition of the willing” assembled to provide security for
Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire in that war.
French military spokesman Col. Guillaume Vernet said Thursday that the
mission is still “in construction.”
Macron's office said participants will contribute “each according to its
capabilities,” stressing options to ensure safe passage through the
strait will depend on the security situation after a lasting ceasefire.
“What matters is that ship operators have all the means at their
disposal to be sure their vessels will not be hit if they pass through
the strait. That may require intelligence, mine-clearing capabilities,
military escorts, communication procedures with coastal states, etc.,”
an official said, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with the
French presidency's customary practices.
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 though the strait.
“You need huge numbers of vessels for that sort of thing, which nobody
has,” he said.
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Backdropped by ships in the Strait of Hormuz, damage, according to
local witnesses caused by several recent airstrikes during the
U.S.-Israel military campaign, is seen on a fishing pier in the port
of Qeshm island, Iran, Monday, April 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Asghar
Besharati)
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.
“They 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,” she said.
Dozens of countries involved in talks
Britain has discussed using mine-hunting drones, deployed from the
ship RFA Lyme Bay, for a Hormuz mission.
The war has highlighted the shrunken state of the Royal Navy, which
has deployed just one major warship, destroyer HMS Dragon, to the
eastern Mediterranean. France, which has the European Union’s most
powerful military, has sent its nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to
the region, alongside a helicopter carrier and several frigates.
More than 40 nations have taken part in diplomatic or military
meetings led by France and the U.K. in recent weeks, though fewer
are likely to commit military resources.
Macron's office said about 30 countries are to attend Friday's
talks, including some from the Middle East and Asia. The list has
not been disclosed. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Italian
Premier Giorgia Meloni are expected to attend in person, with others
joining by video.
The operation is partly a response to Trump, who has berated allies
for failing to join the war and said reopening the strait is not
America's job. The president has called allies “cowards,” said NATO
“wasn’t there when we needed them” and telling Britain: “You don’t
even have a navy.”
“I imagine there’ll be some desire on the part of many European
states, and potentially Canada, to demonstrate the ability to
provide security in a way that’s distinct from if not completely
separate from the U.S. and which also demonstrates a capacity for
independent action,” Kaushal said.
“How many states actually have spare capacity to offer to this is a
pretty open question.”
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Lawless reported from London.
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