Britain is moving a Royal Navy destroyer to the Middle East as part of a possible multinational mission to protect commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, amid renewed tensions threatening a fragile U.S.-Iran ceasefire.
The UK Ministry of Defence said HMS Dragon, a Type 45 destroyer currently in the eastern Mediterranean, would be pre-positioned to support a UK- and France-led maritime security operation once conditions allow safe passage through the strategic waterway.
The pre-positioning of HMS Dragon is part of prudent planning that will ensure that the UK is ready, as part of a multinational coalition jointly led by the UK and France, to secure the strait, when conditions allow," a spokesperson for the UK Ministry of Defence said.
The deployment comes as Washington awaits Tehran’s response to a new ceasefire proposal after fresh clashes in and around Hormuz strained already fragile diplomacy.
U.S. officials said Iranian and American forces exchanged fire near the strait this week, while the United States accused Tehran of disrupting shipping and targeting Gulf infrastructure.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. expected an Iranian reply “imminently”, though both sides have accused each other of violating the truce declared last month.
The Strait of Hormuz handles roughly a fifth of global oil trade, and continued disruptions have heightened fears of prolonged supply shocks and further military escalation in the Gulf.
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