Italy, Germany and France offer help with Hormuz only after ceasefire

Six major international powers said on Thursday they were ready “to contribute to” ensuring safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, though three stressed that any initiative would take place post-ceasefire.

Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the Netherlands said on Thursday they were ready “to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz”.

The grouping said they “welcome the commitment of nations who are engaging in preparatory planning”, as they condemned “in the strongest terms recent attacks by Iran on unarmed commercial vessels in the Gulf”.

But Italy, Germany and France made clear later on Thursday that they were not talking about any immediate military help, but rather a potential multilateral initiative after a ceasefire.

The declaration came as an effective Iranian blockade of the strait has paralysed commercial shipping through the crucial maritime chokepoint, which in peacetime sees a fifth of global…