The U.S. has invited all NATO allies to join a Washington-led maritime security initiative in the Strait of Hormuz as Britain and France move ahead with their own effort to secure the chokepoint, statements provided to the Daily Caller News Foundation show.
The dueling efforts show Western governments are moving on separate but overlapping tracks to restore freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, where disrupted shipping threatens global energy markets and raises the risk of direct military confrontation with Iran. The U.K. and France have emphasized that their efforts are distinct from the proposed U.S. calls for broader participation in a separate initiative tied to maritime security in the strait.
“The [Joint French-U.K.] initiative is therefore entirely separate from the United States’ approach and remains defensive in nature,” a French military spokesperson told the DCNF.
“All NATO allies, including Latvia, have received the invitation to join the U.S.-led initiative on the maritime security in the Strait of Hormuz,” Sabīne Janisela, the press and public diplomacy counselor for the Embassy of Latvia, told the DCNF. “We support the multilateral efforts to ensure the maritime security in the Strait of Hormuz. We welcome both the joint French-U.K. and U.S. initiatives, and we will continue to coordinate to achieve these goals.”
The White House referred the DCNF to the State Department for comment. The Department of War, the State Department and NATO did not immediately respond.
Team Effort
“Belgium is joining the initiative led by the United Kingdom and France to clear the Strait of Hormuz of mines and guarantee safe passage,” Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson David Jordens told the DCNF. “Belgium is offering specific expertise in mine clearance, but strictly within a defensive framework, under an international mandate and following a ceasefire. The Belgian Government must still take the final decision once the ceasefire is in place.”
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio pushed to create a Maritime Freedom Construct (MFC) to support freedom of navigation, Reuters reported, citing a State Department cable.
“With our allies, this multinational mission will be defensive, independent, and credible,” United Kingdom Defense Secretary John Healey said in a press release on Tuesday.
French military media relations told the DCNF that its carrier strike group is currently in the Red Sea.
“The movement of the carrier strike group is distinct from the military operations initiated in the region and complements the security arrangements,” a French military spokesperson told the DCNF.
South Korea has also signaled openness to supporting maritime security efforts in the strait.
“The Republic of Korea is a key stakeholder that imports about 70% of its crude oil from the Strait of Hormuz,” Korea.net reported, citing South Korean President Lee Jae Myung. “We will make a practical contribution toward guaranteeing free navigation within the strait.”
Oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz accounted for roughly 20% of global petroleum supply at 20 million barrels per day in 2024, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
“I think it’s very interesting … the fact that the UK and France are sort of spinning off, doing their own thing,” national security expert Brandon Weichert told the DCNF. “To be clear, the UK is not in a position, even if they really wanted to, to send a force to open up the Strait of Hormuz; their navy is not doing well. This is the smallest Navy they’ve ever had.”
The U.S. Navy continues to enforce a blockade that has been in effect since April 13, according to a U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) press release.
President Donald Trump recently said in a Truth Social post that Project Freedom would be “paused for a short period of time.” CENTCOM had described Project Freedom as an effort to “restore freedom of navigation for commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz” in a May 3 press release.
“I’ll believe it when I see it, because NATO really can’t do anything without the U.S. Navy,” Weichert told the DCNF. “And thus far, the [U.S. navy] admirals have found every excuse in the book to misdirect Trump or to distract him from actually giving the order to send ships through the Strait of Hormuz because they know the threat from anti-ship ballistic missiles and the drones are so serious.”
This mission may encounter military opposition as the Iranian regime has access to 30 of its 33 missile sites along the Strait of Hormuz, The New York Times reported, citing senior U.S. intelligence officials. The Iranian regime still has access to nearly 70% of its mobile missile launchers and retains 70% of its missile stockpiles, the Times reported, citing intelligence assessments.
President Donald Trump made a post on Truth Social claiming that most of Iran’s military capabilities have already been destroyed.
“Their Navy is gone, their Air Force is gone, their Anti Aircraft apparatus is nonexistent, Radar is dead, their Missile and Drone Factories have been largely obliterated along with the Missiles and Drones themselves and, most importantly, their longtime ‘Leaders’ are no longer with us, praise be to Allah,” Trump said in the Truth Social post
‘Dragon Has Already Set Sail’
“Britain will deploy autonomous mine hunting equipment and cutting-edge counter drone systems, along with Typhoon jets and HMS Dragon as part of a future defensive mission to secure freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz,” the UK Ministry of Defense said in a press release on Tuesday.
The press release also stated that the UK force package would include the “Royal Navy’s modular ‘Beehive’ system which can deliver high-speed, autonomous Kraken drone boats,” Typhoon jets, British military mine-clearance specialists and the Daring-class air-defense destroyer, HMS Dragon.
HMS Dragon has already set sail for the Middle East, the BBC reported.
Chinese supertanker Yuan Hua Hu traversed the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, according to tracking data from MarineTraffic.com, signaling that the situation in the Strait of Hormuz may change very soon as more vessels are allowed to exit.
New Zealand declined to commit to either effort when reached for comment.
“New Zealand joined the international community in expressing our commitment to freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz,” a New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesperson told the DCNF. “It is our view that access needs to be fully restored for the good of the global economy. New Zealand has not made any decisions on any potential contribution at this time. That would be for Cabinet.”
The fact that Europe is willing to take a stand against this shows how bad Europe is “feeling the squeeze,” Weichert said
“I just spoke with [former CIA agent] John Kiriakou about an hour ago … he just got back from Ireland … he said there are gas lines, and he said that it’s $9 and basically $9.10 is what he said per gallon,” Weichert told the DCNF. “It is a nightmare over there … and it’s all from the Strait of Hormuz closure. ”
More than 500 fuel stations ran out of fuel in Ireland on Saturday, the Associated Press reported, citing Fuels for Ireland chief executive Kevin McPartlan.
“The Europeans are obviously no longer in a position to ignore this problem,” Weichert said. “They now know that the Americans are not going to take it on themselves to resolve the problem. In some ways, we’ve made it worse with our counterblockade.”
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