Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper will convene a meeting of 35 nations to discuss reopening the crucial waterway on Thursday.
LONDON — Britain will host a virtual meeting of 35 nations Thursday in a bid to ease the Strait of Hormuz crisis.
Speaking in Downing Street British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Wednesday his Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper will bring together the nations behind last month’s joint statement urging safe passage through the waterway after Iranian forces de facto closed the vital shipping route.
Starmer said the meeting “will assess all viable diplomatic and political measures that we can take to restore freedom of navigation, guarantee the safety of trapped ships and seafarers, and resume the movement of vital commodities.”
A U.K. official confirmed the meeting will take place Thursday, and be held virtually rather than in-person.
The U.K. will also convene military planners to examine how they can “marshal our capabilities and make the Strait accessible and safe after the fighting has stopped,” Starmer said.
Countries behind the joint statement, which pledged to work on “appropriate efforts” to safeguard the major trade route, include the United Arab Emirates, the U.K., France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands.
This story has been updated with more information about the meeting.