The French aircraft carrier, FS Charles De Gaulle sails alongside the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower in the Mediterranean Sea, May 2, 2024. A French carrier strike group, a U.K. destroyer and Italian minesweepers currently are operating in or headed to the Middle East as part of multinational efforts that could help restore safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, officials said this week (Merissa Daley/U.S. Navy)
NAPLES, Italy — European countries have started moving naval ships and other military assets toward the Middle East in preparation to protect commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz in the event of a U.S.-Iran peace agreement.
A French carrier strike group, a U.K. destroyer and Italian minesweepers currently are operating in or headed to the Middle East as part of multinational efforts to restore safe passage through the vital oil artery, through which about 20% of the world’s petroleum products usually travel, officials said this week.
The moves suggest Western allies are making progress in forging a maritime security operation that could quickly move into the Strait of Hormuz if a peace agreement is reached. Such an effort could focus on activities including mine-clearing, escorting commercial ships and deterring attacks on merchant traffic.
French, U.K. and Italian officials have steadfastly maintained that any operations in the Strait of Hormuz will be defensive and will not happen until hostilities have definitively ceased.
On Wednesday, Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto told a joint session of the Italian defense and foreign relations committees that two of the country’s minesweepers were being directed to the Strait of Hormuz, the Italian news agency Ansa reported.
He added that the vessels initially would be staged in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, moving into the Red Sea and ultimately transit into the Persian Gulf region.
The advanced positioning of the ships was needed to ensure their timely arrival when hostilities in the region end, Crosetto said.
The HMS Dragon conducts high speed maneuvers in the eastern Mediterranean on April 25, 2026. (Helayna Birkett/UK MOD Crown copyright 2026)
His comments followed a U.K. announcement that, in addition to a destroyer already heading to the Middle East, the country also would send Typhoon fighter jets, unmanned mine-sweeping systems and drone boats, the BBC reported Tuesday.
The Charles de Gaulle carrier strike group, including as many as three frigates, an oiler and potentially a submarine was in Djibouti Wednesday, USNI News reported.
The war began in late February when U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran triggered retaliatory Iranian attacks on commercial shipping, effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz. Since then, the U.S. has sought to isolate Iran through a naval blockade and briefly conducted a mission to help guide and protect commercial vessels transiting the strait.
U.S.-Iran peace talks stalled earlier this week, with President Donald Trump calling an Iranian response to an American proposal to end the war and reopen the strait “TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE.”
The U.S. blockade of Iranian ships and ports in the Gulf of Oman remained in effect with U.S. Central Command reporting on Friday that its forces had thus far redirected 75 commercial ships and disabled four others to ensure compliance.
Another 15 vessels supporting humanitarian aid were allowed to pass, CENTCOM said separately.
Meanwhile, a report released Thursday by the Joint Maritime Information Center, a multinational maritime security monitoring organization, indicated that just six vessels had transited the strait in the preceding two days. The historical average is 138 vessels daily, according to the JMIC report.
The deployments also come amid pressure from the Trump administration for European allies to play a larger role in securing the region and protecting global shipping lanes.
It’s unclear if those efforts will mollify Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, who each have strongly criticized NATO and other countries for their lack of support in fighting against Iran and keeping the Strait of Hormuz open.
