UK and France Lead Hormuz Navigation Talks... Military Plans Discussed by 30 Nations
by Cha Minyoung
Published 23 Apr.2026 06:53(KST)
Updated 23 Apr.2026 15:10(KST)
With Main Warring Parties Absent,
Discussion Centers on Post-U.S.-Iran Conflict Measures
UK Stresses "Post-Conflict Premise"
The UK Ministry of Defence announced on April 22 that the United Kingdom and France are holding a military planning conference at the Northwood Permanent Joint Headquarters in London from April 22 to 23 (local time), with the participation of over 30 countries. The meeting is aimed at discussing multinational mission operations following the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
This conference marks the stage of translating diplomatic agreements between heads of state into concrete military operational plans. The participating countries plan to devise detailed plans for a 'defensive' multinational mission to protect merchant vessels and remove mines once hostilities cease.
John Healey, UK Secretary of State for Defence, stated, "This meeting is important. It is about turning diplomatic agreements into joint plans to protect freedom of navigation and support a sustained ceasefire," adding, "I am confident that we will see substantial progress over the next two days."
Previously, the UK and France have led international cooperation to ensure freedom of navigation through meetings of foreign ministers and heads of state. At the Paris summit on April 17, more than 12 countries expressed their intent to provide military assets. Over 40 countries attended that meeting, although the United States and Iran, as parties to the conflict, were absent.
However, the UK Ministry of Defence reiterated that, unlike U.S. President Donald Trump's calls for troop deployments, allied countries are maintaining a principle of limited postwar engagement, and that the current discussions are also premised on the period following the de-escalation of the conflict.
Currently, tensions continue in the Strait of Hormuz amid a deadlock in U.S.-Iran negotiations, with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps intensifying the blockade, including the seizure of three vessels. These seizures occurred after President Trump announced the extension of the ceasefire with Iran, just one day before the expiration of the agreed 'two-week ceasefire.' President Trump has stated that the maritime blockade against Iran and related readiness measures will continue.
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