Several dozen countries have said they are willing to 'join an international mission for the protection of?shipping along the Strait of Hormuz if conditions allow,' said Britain, at a time when Donald Trump, U.S. president, said he didn’t need any allies’ help.

A video conference, presided by France and Britain, was attended by 50 countries in Europe and Asia. The event followed the initial military planning. It also served as a message to Washington.

Iran, who said on Friday that it was prepared to open the Strait, has closed it largely to other ships than its own, since the beginning of the U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on it on 28 February. Washington imposed an embargo on Monday against ships that enter or leave Iranian ports.

Trump has called for other countries to enforce the blockade, and has criticized NATO allies who have not done so. But just before the Paris talks ended, Trump claimed that he told NATO to stay out.

Britain, France, and other countries say that joining the blockade is the same as entering the conflict, but they are willing to keep the strait wide open once there has been a ceasefire lasting or the conflict has ended.

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The French President Emmanuel Macron stated that the meeting allowed 'them to send a message of unity?to insist on the immediate and unconditional reopening the strait through which a fifth or more of the world’s oil and liquefied gas passes.

Macron told reporters that "we all oppose any restrictions, anything which would be, in effect, an attempt to privatise strait and, of course, any toll system."

He said that a part of the French naval assets deployed in the Red Sea and eastern Mediterranean could be used to carry out the mission.

Keir Starmer, British Prime Minister, said: "We'll take this further?with a conference on a military plan in London next Monday where we will give more details about the composition of the missions. Over a dozen nations have already offered assets."

For the moment, neither Iran nor the United States are included in this initiative, but European diplomats have said that a realistic mission will ultimately require coordination with both.

Official: RESOURCES DEPENDENT ON SITUATION

The German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stated that his country is willing to participate in the mission and added that the U.S. would also be contributing. It would be "desirable", and he didn't want this to be a "stress-test" for transatlantic relations.

Many diplomats have said that the mission may never be realized if the Strait of Hormuz returns to normal.

Some said that shipping companies and insurance companies could look to deploy such a system during a phase of transition in order to "provide reassurance".

A senior French official stated that "it can include intelligence sharing, mine clearing capabilities, military escorts and?information procedures" with neighbouring countries.

The resources will depend on the current situation. Reporting by John Irish, Paris; Additional reporting from Sam Tabahriti, London; Ingrid Melander, Paris; and Friederike Hiene, Berlin; Editing and editing by Alison Williams and Ingrid Melander

(source: Reuters)