US and UK convene London meeting on protecting Hormuz shipping
The United States and the United Kingdom are preparing a high-level meeting in London next week to discuss forming an international coalition to protect commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. The itinerary and date are still under discussion. Two European diplomats said defence ministers and senior military commanders from Western and regional countries may attend, with US defence secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs chairman Dan Caine expected to take part. A White House official confirmed the plan; the British embassy in Washington declined to comment.
The initiative follows the start of Iranian attacks on ships in the strait two weeks ago. The United States has since carried out daily strikes against Iranian military targets along the southern coast. American officials say Iran's capability has been severely reduced, while others caution that it remains able to attack shipping. President Trump said he would bomb bridges and power plants in Tehran if Iran strikes further vessels, and Iran responded by threatening infrastructure in Gulf states allied with Washington.
The escalation followed the collapse of talks among Oman, Iran and Qatar on a new arrangement for the strait. An Omani delegation returned to Tehran on Friday to resume discussions. Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran would not submit to what he called American bullying and vowed to protect national interests. That leaves two parallel tracks running at once: a diplomatic effort to agree how the waterway is managed, and a military effort to secure it regardless of whether agreement is reached.
Behind the scenes, Washington wants allies to contribute naval and demining vessels along with drones to secure the shipping lanes. The emphasis on mine countermeasures is telling. Mines are cheap, hard to attribute and slow to clear, and a corridor that has to be swept repeatedly cannot offer owners the predictability that routing decisions and war-risk cover depend on. Demining assets are also in short supply across most European navies, which have spent two decades prioritising other capabilities.
European diplomats said many countries insist the fighting must end before they commit assets to any international maritime mission. That reluctance defines the problem the London meeting is meant to solve. A protection force assembled while strikes continue would be exposed from the day it deploys, but waiting for a ceasefire leaves commercial traffic to make its own arrangements in the meantime. For owners weighing whether to transit at all, the practical question is not whether a coalition is announced but how quickly it puts hulls in the water.
