Military Experts Conference on Strait of Hormuz Shipping to Begin in London Suburb

LONDON, April 22. /TASS/. A two-day conference of military experts dedicated to restoring shipping in the Strait of Hormuz will begin in a London suburb on Wednesday, the British Ministry of Defense announced. Representatives from about 30 countries will take part in the event, which will be held at the Northwood Headquarters. The participants will discuss "a detailed military plan for the Strait when hostilities end." "Today's multinational planning conference matters. The task, today and tomorrow, is to translate the diplomatic consensus into a joint plan to safeguard freedom of navigation in the Strait and support a lasting ceasefire. I am confident that, over the next two days, real progress can be made," UK Defense Secretary John Healey said. The British Ministry of Defense added that discussions will focus on ways to deploy armed forces in the region, as well as issues related to the command and control of the mission currently in development. The military conference will follow up on the Strait of Hormuz summit, which took place last week in Paris and was chaired by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron. On February 28, the US and Israel launched a large-scale operation against Iran. On April 7, US President Donald Trump announced a two-week mutual ceasefire with Tehran. According to the Iranian side, a total of 3,375 Iranians died as a result of US and Israeli attacks over the 40 days of war. On April 11, Iran and the US held several rounds of talks in Islamabad. Both Tehran and Washington reported that the parties failed to reach an agreement on a long-term settlement due to a number of contradictions. On April 21, the US leader announced on Truth Social that Washington intends to extend the ceasefire with Iran, which was set to expire in a few hours. According to the Iranian state broadcaster, Tehran does not intend to comply with Washington's unilaterally announced extension of the ceasefire and will prioritize its own interests.