Britain and France will chair talks of about 30 countries this week, aiming to set up a coalition mission to reopen the key Strait of Hormuz, AFP says, citing UK media.

A meeting of chief of defence staffs would take place later this week, the Guardian reported, quoting a defence official.

“I anticipate that at some point in the near future there’ll be some kind of strait of Hormuz security conference,” the official added.

The Times said the UK has offered to host a later summit in southern Portsmouth or London to hammer out details and build the coalition, which would ensure the waterway could be reopened “as soon as the conditions are right”, defence officials said.

This handout natural-colour image acquired with MODIS on NASA’s Terra satellite taken on February 5, 2025 shows the Gulf of Oman and the Makran region (C) in southern Iran and southwestern Pakistan, and the Strait of Hormuz (L) and the northern coast of Oman (bottom). —NASA Earth Observatory/AFP
This handout natural-colour image acquired with MODIS on NASA’s Terra satellite taken on February 5, 2025 shows the Gulf of Oman and the Makran region (C) in southern Iran and southwestern Pakistan, and the Strait of Hormuz (L) and the northern coast of Oman (bottom). —NASA Earth Observatory/AFP

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