{"id":730657,"date":"2026-08-07T18:02:13","date_gmt":"2026-08-07T18:02:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/730657\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T18:02:13","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T18:02:13","slug":"de-escalation-europe-hesitates-as-us-pushes-for-hormuz-naval-mission-us-israel-war-on-iran-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/730657\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018De-escalation\u2019: Europe hesitates as US pushes for Hormuz naval mission | US-Israel war on Iran News"},"content":{"rendered":"

The United States has spent months trying to forge an international naval coalition to escort vessels through the embattled Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n

But Washington\u2019s European allies, including the United Kingdom and France, who previously agreed to head such a mission<\/a>\u00a0in the event of a sustainable truce, appear reluctant to move forward, even as ongoing disruption in the vital\u00a0waterway\u00a0strains the global economy.<\/p>\n

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Analysts say the stalled coalition effort reflects deep caution among European governments about becoming entangled in an unpredictable conflict they neither initiated nor supported, particularly without clear backing from Gulf partners.<\/p>\n

\u201cNeither UK nor France has much appetite for being drawn into a confrontation with Iran on behalf of others, particularly if there is no clear regional demand for it,\u201d HA Hellyer, a senior fellow at the Royal United Services Institute and Center for American Progress, told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n

UK, US \u2018aligned\u2019 on Hormuz<\/p>\n

The US first raised the idea of an international maritime coalition to secure shipping in the waterway in March, as President Donald Trump called on allies, as well as China, to send warships as part of the effort.<\/p>\n

Most countries initially declined or were noncommittal, though the UK and France left the door open to participating.<\/p>\n

US officials continued to promote the idea of a maritime coalition as its war against Iran dragged on, as Trump\u00a0lambasted\u00a0US allies\u00a0<\/a>for what he deemed insufficient support for Washington in the conflict.<\/p>\n

In mid-April, then-British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced plans for the UK and France to lead an international mission to secure shipping in the strait, stressing it would be \u201cstrictly peaceful and defensive\u201d.<\/p>\n

The following month, the UK Ministry of Defence promised to send drones, fighter jets and a warship as part of the mission, which it said had the support of dozens of other countries and would kick off \u201cwhen conditions allow\u201d.<\/p>\n

But months later, the effort appears to be stalled, despite British Defence Secretary Wes Streeting saying his country is \u201cabsolutely aligned\u201d with the US on \u201csecuring maritime freedom and free commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz\u201d.<\/p>\n

A European diplomatic source told Al Jazeera that following a France-UK initiative for a multinational mission for the \u201cfreedom of navigation\u201d in the Strait of Hormuz, a new meeting gathering more than 30 states \u201cat a technical level\u201d took place on Thursday.<\/p>\n

A UK Defence Ministry spokesperson told Al Jazeera that Streeting expects further talks on \u201cplanning and coordination for a future multinational mission\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cOperational activity remains contingent on conditions on the ground and a durable political agreement,\u201d they said, adding that\u00a0the UK remains \u201ccommitted\u201d to securing commercial shipping across the Gulf region.<\/p>\n

\u2018Deliberately narrow\u2019 mission<\/p>\n

Hellyer said the Hormuz naval coalition has been delayed \u201cbecause the politics have never matched the rhetoric\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe UK and France may support freedom of navigation in principle, but they are highly unlikely to lead an operation that key Gulf partners do not actively support,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Neither country wants to be seen as \u201cimposing a security architecture that regional governments regard as unnecessarily escalatory,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Amjed Rasheed, lecturer in defence studies at King\u2019s College London, said any European involvement would likely be limited, conditional and purely defensive.<\/p>\n

Already dealing with a closer security threat on its eastern front with Russia, Europe wants \u201cde-escalation and stability\u201d in the Gulf, Rasheed told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe decision to attack Iran was made in Washington and Tel Aviv,\u201d Rasheed added. \u201cThe two did not consult European powers about it. European powers were\/are not ready to become part of a war they did not participate in [the architecture of]\u201d.<\/p>\n

Hellyer said he believes a \u201cdefensive maritime presence\u201d in Hormuz\u00a0with European involvement is still\u00a0possible, though he\u00a0doubts \u201ca more muscular coalition\u201d will take shape.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would expect any European mission to remain deliberately narrow, focused on reassurance and commercial shipping, rather than evolving into a broader security operation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Hormuz, Iran\u2019s \u2018strategic asset\u2019<\/p>\n

The status of the Strait of Hormuz \u2013 through\u00a0which about<\/a> one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas usually flows \u2013 has become a major point of contention between the US and Iran in negotiations to end the conflict.<\/p>\n

The US insists that Iran does not control the strait, through which there should be free, unfettered passage as per international law, while Iran has sought to shore up control over the waterway and direct vessels to pass through routes it approves.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, Iran\u2019s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said an understanding with Oman over a new protocol for managing traffic in Hormuz was \u201con the verge of being finalised\u201d.<\/p>\n

Under the arrangement, which would last two to four months, Gharibabadi said large parts of a new designated shipping route would go through Iran\u2019s territorial waters and others would pass through Oman\u2019s waters, while current temporary routes would be closed.<\/p>\n

Sina Azodi, assistant professor of Middle East politics at George Washington University, told Al Jazeera he doubts the status of the Strait of Hormuz will ever return to how it was before the US-Israeli war on Iran began.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Iranians have learned that by blockading the Strait of Hormuz, they can make the global economy scream,\u201d he told Al Jazeera. \u201cThis is a strategic asset, and I don\u2019t think they will let go of it easily.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The United States has spent months trying to forge an international naval coalition to escort vessels through the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":730658,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[591,819,59,57,58,585,632,50,56,54,55,3544,166618],"class_list":["post-730657","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-kingdom","tag-europe","tag-france","tag-gb","tag-great-britain","tag-greatbritain","tag-iran","tag-middle-east","tag-news","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom","tag-us-canada","tag-us-israel-war-on-iran"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/730657","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=730657"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/730657\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/730658"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=730657"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=730657"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=730657"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}