LONDON, United Kingdom — The UK and France will on Tuesday host a multinational meeting of defense ministers on military plans to restore trade flows through the Strait of Hormuz, the British government said.

The announcement came hours after Iran warned London and Paris against sending warships to the region.

“The Defence Secretary John Healey will co-chair a meeting of over 40 nations, alongside his French counterpart, Minister Catherine Vautrin, for the multinational mission’s first Defence Minister’s meeting,” a British defense ministry statement said Sunday.

The virtual meeting follows a two-day gathering in London in April of military planners who thrashed out the practicalities of a multinational mission led by the UK and France to protect navigation in the key waterway following a sustainable ceasefire.

“We are turning diplomatic agreement into practical military plans to restore confidence for shipping through the Strait of Hormuz,” Healey said.

It comes as France and Britain dispatched warships to the Middle East.

France has sent its nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the Charles de Gaulle, to the region, and the UK on Saturday said it was sending a destroyer, HMS Dragon.

Both........

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