Royal Navy warship dispatched for potential Strait of Hormuz mission

HMS Dragon will travel to the Middle East so it can join an international mission to safeguard commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

The Royal Navy warship is being sent to the troubled Strait region to take part in a joint mission.

The Type 45 destroyer HMS Dragon will ‘pre-position’ in the region, ready to join the UK and French-led initiative once hostilities cease between Iran

Sporadic fighting has been reported in the region despite a shaky ceasefire, with Iran accused of carrying out airstrikes at an oil facility in the UAE last week.

The proposed mission championed by Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron would involve a coalition of nations willing to ensure freedom of navigation in the Strait, a key route for global oil and gas supplies and goods.

On Friday, the US military struck two Iranian tankers which were trying to breach the blockade imposed on Iranian ports by Donald Trump.

Explosions were heard in the Iranian port cities of Qeshm Island and Bandar Abbas near the Strait on Thursday.

The US confirmed it had targeted Iranian military facilities responsible for attacking it, including missile and drone launch sites, but insisted that this was in ‘self-defense.’

A Ministry of defense spokesman said: ‘We can confirm that HMS Dragon will deploy to the Middle East to pre-position ahead of any future multinational mission to protect international shipping when conditions allow them to transit the Strait of Hormuz.

‘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.’

HMS Dragon has been stationed in eastern Mediterranean, where it has been on standby to defend British bases on Cyprus.

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