UK sending warship to Middle East ahead of Hormuz mission

Britain is deploying the destroyer HMS Dragon to the Middle East ahead of a multinational mission to protect shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, the Defense Ministry said Saturday.

The move comes as naval clashes in the Gulf intensified, with a U.S. fighter jet firing on and disabling two Iranian-flagged tankers on Friday.

Why is the UK sending HMS Dragon to the Middle East?

The Defense Ministry said the pre-positioning of HMS Dragon was "part of prudent planning" to ensure Britain was ready to join a coalition mission to secure the strait when conditions allow.

The deployment is intended to strengthen the confidence of commercial shipping and support mine clearance efforts once hostilities end. Britain and France are jointly leading the planned multinational mission, with around 40 countries understood to have agreed to participate.

"The pre-positioning of HMS Dragon is part of prudent planning that will ensure that the UK is ready, as part of a multinational coalition jointly led by the UK and France, to secure the strait, when conditions allow," a ministry spokesperson told AFP.

What is the multinational Hormuz mission and who is involved?

At a two-day meeting in London in April involving more than 44 countries, military planners discussed the practicalities of a UK and France-led mission to protect navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.

Britain and France announced last month that military plans were coming together and would succeed in restoring trade flows through the passage. Around 40 countries are understood to have agreed to participate in the mission.

What is happening in the Strait of Hormuz right now?

Before the U.S.-Israel war on Iran began Feb. 28, about a fifth of the world's oil passed through the strait. Iran has since largely closed the waterway, throwing global markets into turmoil and driving up oil prices.

The U.S. later imposed its own blockade of Iranian ports in response. Iran has also been seeking to extract tolls from foreign vessels passing through the strait as a means of economic leverage over the U.S. and its allies.

What happened in the latest naval clashes in the Gulf?

On Friday, a U.S. fighter jet fired on and disabled two Iranian-flagged tankers that Washington accused of challenging its naval blockade of Iranian ports.

The U.S. action prompted Iranian retaliatory attacks. It followed a flare-up overnight Thursday to Friday in the Strait, further complicating diplomatic efforts to reach a ceasefire. Iran questioned Saturday the seriousness of American diplomacy in pursuing a ceasefire in the wake of the renewed clashes.