The United Kingdom has decided to forward-deploy a Royal Navy destroyer to the Middle East to support safe navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.
The Ministry of National Defense said on the 9th (local time) that the Royal Navy destroyer HMS Dragon will be moved to the Middle East. The ship is being deployed to prepare for a potential multinational maritime protection operation that could take place in the Strait of Hormuz.
HMS Dragon, which had been carrying out a mission to defend the British military base in Cyprus, changed its mission area so it can be deployed immediately if a freedom of navigation operation begins in the Strait of Hormuz.
A Ministry of National Defense Spokesperson said, "The advance deployment of the destroyer HMS Dragon is part of a multinational coalition jointly led by the United Kingdom and France," adding it is "a prudent plan to maintain readiness so that we can secure the strait's safety as circumstances allow."
The Ministry of National Defense said that after HMS Dragon arrives in the Middle East, if regional tensions ease, it will support the safe passage of merchant ships and participate in mine-clearing operations.
The United Kingdom, despite repeated U.S. pressure to support the war, jointly led with France a multinational gathering to guarantee freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for energy transport after the end of the war.
France also said on the 6th that the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier strike group, which it deployed to the eastern Mediterranean, is being redeployed to the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.