Over 40 nations to attend Tuesday confab; Paris and London are sending military vessels to area of blockaded strait, as Tehran asserts only it can establish security in waterway

The UK and France are co-hosting a multinational meeting of defence ministers, to try to restore trade flows through the Strait of Hormuz. More than 40 nations are expected to join the virtual gathering.

By John Irish and Elizabeth Pineau PARIS, May 6 (Reuters) - France on Wednesday deployed its carrier strike group to the Red Sea as part of planning for a potential mission to secure the Strait of Hormuz,

Efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz have been the focus of talks between US secretary of state Marco Rubio and UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper.The pair discussed the ongoing Iran crisis as Britain and France prepared to co-host a meeting of 40 defence ministers on Tuesday about plans to protect shipping in the critical waterway once hostilities cease in the conflict.

The nuclear-powered Charles de Gaulle and its escorts were repositioned as part of a proposed mission championed by France and Britain to restore maritime security in the Strait of Hormuz as soon as conditions allow.

President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will co-chair the meeting to discuss a plan to 'restore freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz when security conditions allow.'

Iran has issued one of its strongest warnings yet to the United Kingdom and France over reported plans to deploy naval forces near the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran said any foreign military presence in the strategic waterway would trigger a “decisive and immediate response,

Iran launched attacks on the UAE and tankers in the Strait of Hormuz while the U.S. destroyed Iranian boats "that attempted to interfere" with Project Freedom.

The French government on Monday said its planned maritime operations in the Strait of Hormuz are “never an offensive posture,” amid Iranian warnings over possible Western naval activity in the region.