LONDON, July 4 (Xinhua) -- Britain and France are ready to work with Oman to protect the navigation security of its sovereign territorial waters, according to a joint statement issued late Friday.

Vessels are pictured off coast of the Khor Fakkan Container Terminal, the only natural deep-sea port in the region and one of the major container ports in Sharjah Emirate, along the Gulf of Oman on June 28, 2026. (File photo: AFP)

In the statement, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron described the Strait of Hormuz as "a vital artery for the global economy," saying that restoring safe transit for ships through the Strait is a matter of global concern.

The statement said Oman had agreed to work with Britain and France to ensure safe navigation in its sovereign territorial waters. The two European countries "also stand ready to deploy the wider Multinational Military Mission to support freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz," it added.

Britain and France proposed a defensive, multinational escort mission in the Strait of Hormuz in April and have since deployed military forces to Middle Eastern waters in preparation for the mission.

Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran's deputy foreign minister for Legal and International Affairs, said in May that the presence of French and British warships in the Strait of Hormuz to accompany the U.S. "illegal and internationally unlawful" actions would meet with a "decisive and immediate" response from Iran's armed forces.