Middle East crisis live: Trump rejects Iran response to US peace proposal as Tehran warns of new attacks

The UK and France will host a multinational meeting of defence ministers involving 40 countries tomorrow to discuss military plans to restore trade flows through the strait of Hormuz, the British defence ministry said.

The UK’s defence secretary John Healey and his French counterpart Catherine Vautrin will co-chair the meeting. Healey said:

double quotation markWhen I co-chair this meeting of nations from around the world, our job will be to make sure we are not just talking, we are ready to act.

That is why I have directed HMS Dragon to the Middle East, so Britain is in position to support this mission the moment it is needed.

This government will not stand by when instability drives up costs for British families and businesses.

The UK has already announced the deployment of HMS Dragon to the region so the destroyer can play a role in a multinational mission should the conditions allow after the US-Israel war on Iran is over.

Iran on Sunday threatened to strike British and French warships in the strait if they try to help reopen the strategic waterway.

French President Emmanuel Macron subsequently clarified that France had “never envisaged” a naval deployment but rather a security mission that would be done in coordination with Tehran.