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France, UK to Work on ‘Peaceful Multinational Mission’ for Hormuz

France's President Emmanuel Macron leaves the Vatican after a private audience with Pope Leo XIV, on April 10, 2026. (AFP)
France's President Emmanuel Macron leaves the Vatican after a private audience with Pope Leo XIV, on April 10, 2026. (AFP)
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France, UK to Work on ‘Peaceful Multinational Mission’ for Hormuz

France's President Emmanuel Macron leaves the Vatican after a private audience with Pope Leo XIV, on April 10, 2026. (AFP)
France's President Emmanuel Macron leaves the Vatican after a private audience with Pope Leo XIV, on April 10, 2026. (AFP)

France and Britain will work on a "peaceful multinational mission" to restore traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, but it would be "separate from the warring parties", French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday. 

US-Israeli strikes on Iran in late February sparked a region-wide war and brought to a near standstill traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for global oil and gas shipments. 

Iran and the United States last week agreed to a two-week cessation of hostilities, but ceasefire talks between the warring sides in Pakistan on the weekend ended in failure. 

US President Donald Trump responded by ordering his navy to carry out a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz starting Monday. 

Trump also said, on his Truth Social platform, that "Other Countries will be involved with this Blockade" but did not specify which ones. 

The UK-French initiative, which Macron announced on X, appeared to be separate from Trump's announced blockade. 

"In the coming days, together with the United Kingdom, we will organize a conference with those countries prepared to contribute alongside us to a peaceful multinational mission aimed at restoring freedom of navigation in the strait," Macron said. 

"This strictly defensive mission, separate from the warring parties to the conflict, is intended to be deployed as soon as circumstances permit." 

The US military said the blockade ordered by Trump would begin at 1400 GMT, and apply to all ships leaving or seeking to dock at Iranian ports on either side of the key waterway. 

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Monday that Britain will not join the naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz announced by Trump. 

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World

If Iran Refuses US Proposal, Israel Vows 'Even More Painful' Strikes

FILE PHOTO: A 3D-printed miniature model of Donald Trump and the US and Iran flags are seen in this illustration taken January 15, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A 3D-printed miniature model of Donald Trump and the US and Iran flags are seen in this illustration taken January 15, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
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If Iran Refuses US Proposal, Israel Vows 'Even More Painful' Strikes

FILE PHOTO: A 3D-printed miniature model of Donald Trump and the US and Iran flags are seen in this illustration taken January 15, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A 3D-printed miniature model of Donald Trump and the US and Iran flags are seen in this illustration taken January 15, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

Israel's defense minister warned Iran on Thursday against rejecting a US proposal focused on renouncing "nuclear armament" and vowed to stage "even more painful" strikes on new targets if it did so.

"Iran is standing at a historic crossroads: one path is renouncing the ways of terror and nuclear armament... in line with the US proposal, the other leads to an abyss," Israel Katz said, Reuters reported.

"If the Iranian regime chooses the second path, it will quickly discover there are even more painful targets than those we have already struck," he said.

World

Lula Says Trump Has 'No Right' to Threaten Countries

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (Photo by Evaristo Sa / AFP)
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (Photo by Evaristo Sa / AFP)
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Lula Says Trump Has 'No Right' to Threaten Countries

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (Photo by Evaristo Sa / AFP)
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (Photo by Evaristo Sa / AFP)

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva criticized US President Donald Trump, saying the US leader has "no right" to threaten other nations, in an interview published in Spain on Thursday.

Lula's comments come after Trump this month warned that a "whole civilization will die" in Iran if the country did not open up the Strait of Hormuz.

"Trump has no right to wake up in the morning and threaten a country," Lula told the Spanish daily El Pais, recalling that the US Constitution divides authority over war and foreign policy between Congress and the president, AFP reported.

"It is essential that powerful leaders take greater responsibility in maintaining peace," the 80-year-old leftist president added.

Lula and Trump, 79, stand on opposite sides on issues including multilateralism, international trade and the fight against climate change.

Brasília-Washington relations remain strained, despite a meeting between the leaders last year that helped ease tensions and led to a reduction in trade tariffs.

Lula renewed calls for reform of the UN Security Council, including the removal of the veto held by five permanent members and the inclusion of more countries from Africa and Latin America.

"It is time to redefine the United Nations to give it credibility, otherwise Trump is right," he said, referring to the US president's criticism that the post-World War II international system is no longer effective.

Lula spoke to the newspaper ahead of a visit to Spain, where he is to meet Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and attend a forum of progressive leaders.

Other attendees at the gathering in Barcelona on Saturday include Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.

World

Danish Refugee Council Warns 4 Million More Face Displacement as Aid Drops

Some of the Sudanese civilian refugees and human rights activists hold placards with the wordings, 'KeepEyesOnSudan' outside a bus branded during a commemorative gathering dubbed 'Under the Neema (Tree)' to mark the third anniversary since the war in Sudan started, organized by the Amnesty International at the Freedom Corner in Nairobi, Kenya, 15 April 2026. EPA/DANIEL IRUNGU
Some of the Sudanese civilian refugees and human rights activists hold placards with the wordings, 'KeepEyesOnSudan' outside a bus branded during a commemorative gathering dubbed 'Under the Neema (Tree)' to mark the third anniversary since the war in Sudan started, organized by the Amnesty International at the Freedom Corner in Nairobi, Kenya, 15 April 2026. EPA/DANIEL IRUNGU
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Danish Refugee Council Warns 4 Million More Face Displacement as Aid Drops

Some of the Sudanese civilian refugees and human rights activists hold placards with the wordings, 'KeepEyesOnSudan' outside a bus branded during a commemorative gathering dubbed 'Under the Neema (Tree)' to mark the third anniversary since the war in Sudan started, organized by the Amnesty International at the Freedom Corner in Nairobi, Kenya, 15 April 2026. EPA/DANIEL IRUNGU
Some of the Sudanese civilian refugees and human rights activists hold placards with the wordings, 'KeepEyesOnSudan' outside a bus branded during a commemorative gathering dubbed 'Under the Neema (Tree)' to mark the third anniversary since the war in Sudan started, organized by the Amnesty International at the Freedom Corner in Nairobi, Kenya, 15 April 2026. EPA/DANIEL IRUNGU

Over 4 million people are set to be newly displaced around the world by the end of next year as donors step back from providing life-saving aid, the Danish Refugee Council said on Thursday.

There are already some 117 million people forcibly displaced worldwide as the number of conflicts has surged to around 130 - double ⁠the number reported ⁠earlier this century, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross.

"For families fleeing war with nothing but the clothes on their backs, there is little ⁠hope: the international safety net that once existed has gaping holes as humanitarian assistance shrinks," Reuters quoted Charlotte Slente, Secretary General of the DRC, as saying.

Sudan - where a war entered its fourth year this week and 13.5 million people are already displaced - will see the largest jump with an additional 670,000 people ⁠fleeing ⁠this year and next, the DRC said.

UN agencies are warning that they may have to cut off vital supplies of water and food to them in neighboring Chad because of a lack of funding.

The DRC's findings, supported by IBM, were based on key indicators on security, environment and other factors across 27 countries.