UK to host talks on mission to reopen Hormuz: Reports

Britain and France will chair talks of about 30 countries this week aiming to set up a coalition mission to reopen the key Strait of Hormuz -- effectively closed by Iran since the start of the Middle East war -- UK media reported Wednesday.

A meeting of chief of defence staffs would take place later this week, the Guardian reported, quoting a defence official. "I anticipate that at some point in the near future there'll be some kind of strait of Hormuz security conference," the official added.

The Times said the UK has offered to host a later summit in southern Portsmouth or London to hammer out details and build the coalition, which would ensure the waterway could be reopened "as soon as the conditions are right," defence officials said.