WASHINGTON, July 25– The United States and Britain are planning to hold a high-level meeting in London next week to discuss forming a potential international coalition to protect commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, U.S. online news outlet Axios reported on Friday.
The agenda and timing of the meeting are still under discussion and have yet to be finalized, Axios reported, citing two European diplomats. The diplomats said the meeting could bring together defense ministers and top military commanders from Western and Middle Eastern countries.
According to the report, reopening the strategic waterway, a vital global energy shipping route, is widely viewed as a key element of any U.S. strategy for ending its war with Iran.
The report also said there had been no Iranian attacks on commercial vessels over the previous four days. It cited U.S. defense officials as saying Iran’s military capability around the strait had been largely eliminated by U.S. strikes, though other officials said that Tehran still retained the capability to attack ships in the area. (Namibia Daily News / Xinhua)
