HMS Dragon, a type 45 destroyer, will “pre-position” in the region ahead of its “potential role” in what the Ministry of Defence (MoD) described as a “strictly defensive and independent” mission.
Sir Keir Starmer, who together with French president Emmanuel Macron is championing the mission, has said the shipping mission would only take place once fighting in the region ends.
Iran has been controlling the Strait of Hormuz for months in retaliation for the US and Israeli attacks.
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Some 20% of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas uses the crucial waterway, whose blockage has sent prices soaring globally.A ceasefire has been in place between the US and Iran since April but a lasting solution to the conflict has not yet been found. Both sides this week have accused the other of launching attacks in the strait.
HMS Dragon is one of the Royal Navy’s six Type 45 destroyers purpose built for anti-aircraft and anti-missile warfare and is of Britain’s most advanced warships.
It has recently been in the eastern Mediterranean as part of the UK’s defensive operations there. Its primary role has been to defend British air bases in Cyprus after RAF Akrotiri was hit by an Iranian-made drone in March.
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