France, UK to host Hormuz conference in Paris on Friday

France and the UK will co-host a conference aimed at restoring freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz on Friday in Paris, the French presidency announced Tuesday.

The Elysee said French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will co-chair the conference, broadcaster BFM TV reported.

The conference will bring together “non-belligerent countries willing to contribute” to “a multinational and purely defensive mission aimed at restoring freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz when security conditions allow,” the French presidency added.

Washington and Tehran held talks in Pakistan’s capital over the weekend, the most significant since 1979 when they severed diplomatic ties, as part of broader efforts to end the US-Israeli offensive on Iran that has killed more than 3,300 people since Feb. 28, before a fragile two-week ceasefire was brokered last week.

The talks, however, remained inconclusive. The ceasefire was mediated and announced by Pakistan on April 8.

US President Donald Trump later announced a naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, which took effect at 1400GMT on Monday.