Macron and Starmer host allies for summit on Hormuz maritime security

உலகம்

Macron and Starmer host allies for summit on Hormuz maritime security

Published

2 months ago

April 17, 2026

alaguraj@gmail.com

US not part of France- and UK-led talks on a post-war Hormuz maritime force, but Europe’s role remains limited.

France and the United Kingdom are convening dozens of countries to advance plans for a multinational maritime force to secure the Strait of Hormuz, but Washington is not part of the discussions.

The meeting is taking place at the Elysee presidential palace in Paris on Friday, chaired by French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, with about 30 to 40 countries participating in person or by video conference.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni are also attending in person, but the full list of attendees has not been disclosed.

The talks will focus on what has been formally branded the Strait of Hormuz Maritime Freedom of Navigation Initiative, a defensive mission to restore free passage through the waterway once a lasting ceasefire in the US-Israel war on Iran is in place.

The strait has been closed since Iran imposed a blockade after the US and Israel launched their war on February 28. A fifth of the world’s oil usually passes through the chokepoint. The US has since compounded the disruption by imposing its own blockade on Iranian ports.

European leaders warned that the ongoing closure threatened consumers with higher inflation, food shortages, and flight cancellations as jet fuel supplies ran thin. More than 20,000 seafarers were trapped on board hundreds of vessels caught in the blockade.

“The unconditional and immediate reopening of the strait is a global responsibility, and we need to act to get global energy and trade flowing freely again,” Starmer said in comments before the meeting, accusing Iran of “holding the world’s economy to ransom”.

France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot called the blockade’s economic consequences “major” for French citizens and businesses alike.

The initiative mirrored Europe’s earlier efforts to assemble a security force for Ukraine, and carried similar conditions: Deployment only when the conflict ends and security conditions allow.

A French presidential official speaking to the AFP news agency said allies would need “an Iranian commitment not to fire on passing ships and a US commitment not to block any ships leaving or entering the Strait of Hormuz” before any mission could proceed.

Washington’s absence from the table was deliberate. Macron said the mission to provide security for shipping through the strait would be “strictly defensive” and limited to non-belligerent countries.

The operation was partly a response to Trump, who had berated European allies for failing to join the war, called NATO members “cowards”, and told the UK: “You don’t even have a navy.”

Trump’s retaliatory US blockade of Iranian ports has raised the economic jeopardy even higher.

Military planning is already under way. The UK has discussed deploying mine-hunting drones from the ship RFA Lyme Bay, while France sent its nuclear-powered aircraft carrier alongside a helicopter carrier and several frigates to the region. French military spokesman Colonel Guillaume Vernet cautioned that the mission remained “in construction”.

📰 மூல செய்தி (Source): https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/4/17/macron-and-starmer-host-allies-for-summit-on-hormuz-maritime-security?traffic_source=rss

Related Topics:சர்வதேச செய்திகள்தமிழ் மொழிபெயர்ப்பு

Up Next

Can Hungary wean itself off Russian energy, as its new leader has promised?

Don't Miss

Pope Leo urges peace in visit to Cameroon’s conflict-hit northwest

alaguraj@gmail.com

Click to comment

உலகம்

Israel continues strikes on Lebanon despite halting attacks on Iran

Published

11 hours ago

June 9, 2026

alaguraj@gmail.com

Israel continues strikes on Lebanon despite halting attacks on Iran

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged a halt in fighting with Iran, but vowed to respond “with force” to future attacks. Israel says it will continue operations in Lebanon, claiming to focus on Hezbollah targets.

📰 மூல செய்தி (Source): https://www.aljazeera.com/video/newsfeed/2026/6/9/aje-onl-nf_israel-continues-strikes-on-lebanon-halts-on-iran-080626?traffic_source=rss

உலகம்

ICC prosecutor suspended pending vote on sexual misconduct claims

Published

11 hours ago

June 9, 2026

alaguraj@gmail.com

Karim Khan rejects suspension as ICC governing body refers him to disciplinary proceedings before member states.

The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, has been suspended from his duties, the tribunal’s governing body said, following a probe into sexual misconduct allegations.

In a statement on Monday, the Bureau of the Assembly of States Parties said it will refer Khan to disciplinary proceedings before all 125 ICC member states, which will vote on his fate in a special session.

“This suspension is not an indication of the final outcome,” it said.

The bureau, which is the executive committee of the court’s oversight body, said it referred Khan after making its own decision on the disciplinary proceedings involving the prosecutor.

It said the decision was based on a report of a United Nations investigation, the advice of an ad hoc panel of judicial experts, and written submissions, but did not give details about what it had decided.

“The decision of the ⁠Bureau and the related documentation will remain confidential,” the statement said.

Khan’s lawyers ⁠said in a statement that he rejected the decision in the strongest terms, and repeated his denial of any wrongdoing.

“The decision is unlawful, procedurally unfair and unsupported by evidence,” the statement said.

Khan, 56, drew international attention when he applied for warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then-Minister of Defence Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Gaza.

He also sought warrants for Hamas leaders, including Yahya Sinwar, for the October 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel.

Khan was among the first to be sanctioned by Israel’s ally, the United States, which expressed outrage over the arrest warrants.

He has maintained that the misconduct probe is a politically motivated smear campaign.

According to Reuters and the Associated Press news agencies, the UN probe found a “factual basis” for the allegations of sexual misconduct made by a female aide. However, a three-judge panel selected by the executive committee for a legal assessment of the findings found that the investigation was not conclusive enough.

Khan’s lawyers had previously told Reuters that the judges had unanimously concluded that the “factual findings do not establish misconduct or breach of duty”.

Khan has not led the ICC’s Office of the Prosecutor since ⁠last May, when he took a voluntary leave of absence pending the outcome of the inquiry.

He is the first ICC prosecutor to be formally suspended from his role by the court’s oversight body.

Only the Assembly of States Parties has the authority to remove Khan from office, a move that would require a majority in a secret ballot of its 125 member states.

Sixty-three countries would need to support a measure to remove him.

No date was immediately set for the session.

Khan’s suspension will have little practical impact on the functioning of the court, given his existing leave of absence.

He has already been removed from pleading in the ICC’s most high-profile current case, against former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte.

📰 மூல செய்தி (Source): https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/6/9/icc-prosecutor-suspended-pending-vote-on-sexual-misconduct-claims?traffic_source=rss

உலகம்

UN questions legality of Israeli forced evacuation orders in Lebanon

Published

11 hours ago

June 9, 2026

alaguraj@gmail.com

UN questions legality of Israeli forced evacuation orders in Lebanon

A UN spokesman says forced evacuation orders issued across southern and eastern Lebanon are nearly impossible to follow safely, and calls into question whether Israel is complying with international humanitarian law.

📰 மூல செய்தி (Source): https://www.aljazeera.com/video/newsfeed/2026/6/9/un-questions-legality-of-israeli-forced-evacuation-orders-in-lebanon?traffic_source=rss