The situation in the Middle East has suddenly escalated in recent days, and can even be described as imminent. Just as Trump is about to embark on his visit to China, the UK and France have taken the lead in making a big move, and a huge escort alliance consisting of about 40 countries has been assembled.

This alliance plans to carry out mine clearance, intelligence support, and merchant escort in the Strait of Hormuz. For a time, the skies over the Persian Gulf were shrouded in war clouds, and thousands of US and multinational armed forces were approaching the strait.

However, surprisingly, in the face of such a situation, Iran not only did not back down, but also firmly rejected the US plan.


40 Nation Alliance publicly escorts

On May 11th, the UK and France led an unprecedented meeting and officially announced the list of 40 countries participating in the escort of the Strait of Hormuz.

According to Reuters' report on the same day, not only traditional Western powers are included in this list, but even countries outside the region such as Japan and Italy have expressed their willingness to participate.

The rhetoric of these countries is very consistent, claiming to carry out mine clearance and escort missions to ensure the safety of waterways.

It can be seen that the purpose of this action is very clear, which is to try to nail Iran to the position of "disruptor" in international public opinion, in order to occupy the moral high ground.

According to Bloomberg, the explanation of this mission by the UK and France was very restrained, as they deemed the escort to be a "defensive" and "phased" operation.