France and Britain chart Hormuz passage plan

France and Britain are preparing to convene partner countries for what President Emmanuel Macron described as a peaceful multinational mission to restore freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, marking a European push to keep one of the world’s most important energy arteries open without joining Washington’s new blockade of Iranian ports. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Britain would not support the US blockade and insisted London’s efforts were focused on getting the strait “open and fully open”.

The remarks give substance to a claim circulating online that Paris and London are working on a joint initiative, but the available record shows a more specific formulation than some social media posts suggest. Macron has framed the effort as a defensive and multinational maritime mission, separate from the combatants and intended to restore safe navigation when conditions permit, while British officials have presented their role as diplomatic and maritime-security focused rather than part of coercive action against Iran.

Macron’s position has evolved over the past two weeks from resisting any attempt to force the strait open by military means to proposing a wider defensive framework under European leadership. On April 2, he said it was unrealistic to reopen Hormuz by force. By April 8, he said about 15 countries were participating in planning, under France’s leadership, for a strictly defensive mission coordinated with Iran to facilitate the resumption of traffic. On April 13, he said France would organise, with the United Kingdom, a conference in the coming days for countries willing to join a peaceful multinational mission aimed at restoring freedom of navigation.

Britain’s stance has been equally clear on what it will not do. Starmer said on Monday that Britain would not be drawn into the war with Iran and would not back a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, even as he confirmed the presence of British minesweepers in the region. He said those assets were focused on reopening maritime access, not supporting a broader campaign against Iranian shipping. That distinction matters because the US military said its blockade, beginning on April 13, would be enforced against vessels entering or leaving Iranian ports, while allowing passage through the strait for ships bound for non-Iranian ports.

Hormuz has become the diplomatic and economic centre of the crisis because of its outsized role in global energy trade. Around a fifth of the world’s oil supply usually moves through the narrow waterway, and the closure or partial obstruction of traffic has already rattled energy markets, disrupted tanker movements and sharpened concern across importing economies. Reports on Monday showed Brent crude moving above $100 a barrel after the collapse of talks and Washington’s blockade announcement, underlining how quickly geopolitical risk in the Gulf can filter into fuel prices, inflation expectations and freight costs.

European governments have been building the outline of this approach for weeks. A joint leaders’ statement published on March 19 by London said dozens of countries, including France, Britain, Japan, Canada, the United Arab Emirates and others, condemned attacks on shipping and the de facto closure of the strait by Iranian forces, while reaffirming that freedom of navigation is a fundamental principle of international law. On April 2, Britain hosted virtual talks with about 35 countries to explore how navigation could be restored, with the United States not due to attend. That suggests the Franco-British effort now under discussion is less an abrupt new idea than the latest stage of a wider coalition-building exercise.

France has also tied the maritime question to a broader diplomatic track. In a joint statement issued after the April 8 ceasefire between the United States and Iran, France, Britain, Germany, Italy, Canada, Australia and other partners said their governments would contribute to ensuring freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz while urging all sides to implement the ceasefire and pursue a negotiated settlement. Macron separately said Lebanon must be included in the ceasefire framework, reflecting Paris’s view that maritime security cannot be detached from the wider regional conflict.