Six allies ready to help 'efforts to ensure safe passage' through Hormuz StraitLONDON, March 19, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Six major international powers, including Britain, France, Germany and Japan, said Thursday they were ready "to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz". The situation has left around 20,000 seafarers stranded on approximately 3,200 vessels west of the strait, according to the International Maritime Organization. "We call on Iran to cease immediately its threats, laying of mines, drone and missile attacks and other attempts to block the Strait to commercial shipping," it added. "Freedom of navigation is a fundamental principle of international law, including under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. US President Donald Trump has urged other world powers, and NATO, to help reopen the Hormuz Strait to commercial shipping, but they have rebuffed his call in the short-term while insisting they were open to discussions and planning.

Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha March 19, 2026 14:28 UTC