UK and France host Strait of Hormuz security summit, reject joining US military action

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron will co-host a Paris summit to develop a defensive strategy for protecting commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, explicitly distancing the initiative from ongoing regional military operations. The summit reflects European efforts to establish independent maritime security measures amid concerns Iran may have deployed mines in the critical waterway, which handles roughly one-third of global seaborne oil trade. The move underscores transatlantic tensions over Middle East strategy, with major European powers charting a separate course from U.S. military involvement in the region. The International Monetary Fund has warned that potential shipping disruptions pose economic risks to the UK and other economies dependent on the strait's stability.