分类： world

A new chapter in diplomatic efforts to stabilize the Middle East emerged Friday, as France and the United Kingdom announced they would spearhead a strictly defensive multinational task force to safeguard unimpeded navigation through the strategically critical Strait of Hormuz — a deployment that will only move forward once a durable regional ceasefire is finalized.

The joint confirmation came as British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron co-chaired a high-level international conference in Paris, convened specifically to address threats to global trade passing through the key shipping chokepoint. Hosted primarily via video conference, the gathering drew participation from 49 countries across Europe and Asia, with representation ranging from senior diplomatic envoys to dozens of heads of state and government. Notably, neither the United States nor Iran, the two primary opposing actors in the ongoing regional conflict, took part in the discussions.

The crisis that prompted the conference began on February 28, when Iran implemented a shipping blockade of the strait immediately after the U.S. and Israel launched military operations against the Islamic republic. The disruption sent immediate economic shockwaves across the globe, stoking widespread fears of renewed global inflation, disrupting global fuel supply chains, and raising alarms over potential worldwide food shortages.

Tensions eased somewhat during the Paris talks, however, when Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi announced via a post on X that the Strait of Hormuz would remain open to all commercial vessels for the duration of any Middle East ceasefire. The announcement was met with a measured positive response from global markets.

In his remarks following the conference, Starmer emphasized that the multinational mission would only activate once conditions on the ground allow for a stable deployment. “This will be strictly peaceful and defensive as a mission to reassure commercial shipping and support mine clearance,” Starmer stated, noting that more than 12 nations have already committed to contributing military assets to the effort.

Macron echoed the call for a permanent end to hostilities, saying that while leaders welcomed Iran’s temporary reopening announcement, they continued to push for “a full, unconditional reopening by all the parties.” The French president added that the verified opening of the strait makes the multinational mission even more critical: it will serve to consolidate recent diplomatic gains in the short term, and lay the groundwork for long-term stability in the corridor.

Macron stressed that the task force is explicitly neutral, and operates completely independent of the belligerent parties currently engaged in the regional conflict. Multiple European nations have already signaled their willingness to join the effort: Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who attended the conference in person, confirmed Italy stands ready to participate, joining Macron and Starmer in emphasizing that a full ceasefire must precede any deployment. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, also present in Paris, noted that it would be desirable for the United States to join the mission at a later date.

The conference marked a key moment for European diplomatic and security leadership, coming after European powers were largely sidelined from earlier U.S.-led diplomatic efforts to end the conflict. The U.S. response has been guarded so far: in a post-conference social media statement, U.S. President Donald Trump said he had rejected an offer from NATO to assist with securing the strait, telling the transatlantic alliance to “STAY AWAY”. It remains unclear whether Trump’s comment referenced the Paris-led initiative, as NATO was not invited to or represented at Friday’s talks.

Starmer framed the mission as a critical step to protect the global economy, noting that “the world needs the Strait of Hormuz fully open because that is how we keep prices down for our people and stop the global economic damage” caused by the blockade. While he welcomed Iran’s announcement of a temporary opening during a ceasefire, he underscored that the international community must work to guarantee the opening is lasting and functional.

According to a statement from Starmer’s office, senior military commanders from participating nations will gather next week at the UK’s Northwood military command headquarters outside London to work out operational details for the proposed task force.

Hours after a fragile ceasefire took hold between Israel and Hezbollah, displaced residents of Beirut’s southern suburbs — a long-standing Hezbollah stronghold — began a tentative journey home on Friday, threading past crumpled building facades and mountains of concrete rubble to assess what remains of their lives.

Streaming back in private cars and on motorbikes, many carried only the few belongings they grabbed when they fled, their arrivals marked by equal measures of relief at the lull in fighting and heartbreak over the scale of destruction left by weeks of Israeli airstrikes that began on March 2.

Among the early returnees was 42-year-old Insaf Ezzedine, who fled the neighborhood of Hay al-Sellom and spent the duration of the conflict bouncing between makeshift street shelters after formal evacuation centers hit capacity. Speaking to Agence France-Presse on a Hezbollah-organized media tour of the area — where independent journalist movement remains restricted — Ezzedine described the overwhelming force of the bombardments that shook the district’s aging, densely packed residential blocks. As her young daughter clung to a plastic doll on the back of their motorbike, she voiced what many returning residents echoed: a desperate longing for lasting peace. “We hope the war will stop and we’ll all go back to our homes and live in peace,” she said. “We want to live with our kids in safety. Our own home was badly damaged, so we’re heading to my brother’s place now.”

The scope of damage is visible on every major thoroughfare in the southern suburbs. Piles of broken concrete, toppled solar panels and dented water tanks block roadside verges, while storefronts along main roads stand gutted, their metal doors blown off their hinges and shop windows shattered into shards. Occasional cars bearing Hezbollah’s yellow flags pass families walking and driving through the rubble-strewn streets, many loaded with whatever personal items they have been able to salvage.

Seventy-five-year-old Samia Lawand traveled back with her daughter and grandchildren only to confirm the worst: their home was too damaged to reoccupy. “We came to check on the house and pick up a few things, but we found the place was too damaged, so we’re leaving again,” Lawand said from the front passenger seat of her family’s car. Her 42-year-old daughter Mariam added that shattered glass and scattered belongings made the space unlivable. In one particularly striking scene on a major artery, a mid-rise building had its entire side torn away by a strike, leaving office furniture and even a complete dentist’s chair exposed to open air. Opposite a blackened, destroyed building just steps from a large portrait of Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem, the twisted wreckage of burned-out cars sits abandoned.

For 34-year-old Hassan Hanoud, who fled to central Beirut with his wife, children and mother to escape the bombardment, the ceasefire represented a chance to return to the only home his family has. “We left for the kids’ sake,” Hanoud explained, a young child resting in his lap as a young daughter behind him held a worn plush toy. “The last time we went back, all the doors and windows were broken, but now the kids just want to come home.”

In the Tahouitet al-Ghadir neighborhood, the first signs of slow recovery are already emerging. Shopkeepers have begun sweeping away debris to reopen their storefronts, and small groups of residents have begun to gather. Long-separated relatives hugged and wept when reunited for the first time since the escalation of hostilities.

Sixty-five-year-old Mustafa, who owns a local garage and spent the war moving between makeshift beachfront tents near the Beirut coast, was one of the first to return, arriving just minutes after the ceasefire went into effect at midnight. “There’s no better feeling than coming back to your area and your people,” he said.

But for many, the fragile truce comes at a devastating cost, bringing a complex mix of fear and cautious hope. Seventy-six-year-old retired soldier Ezzedine Shahrour, who fled the southern Lebanese town of Kfar Hammam and now has one son serving in the Lebanese army and another in security forces, has been begging his children to take him home, even as they warn the security situation remains unstable. “There’s fear and hope” after the ceasefire, he acknowledged.

Seventy-three-year-old Jaafar Ali, who fled the southern Lebanese city of Tyre with his family to shelter in Beirut, came to southern Beirut to check on the home of his relatives. He recalled fleeing so abruptly that the family left in their nightclothes, with no time to grab belongings. “We don’t know how we got out, and we don’t know what’s happened to the house,” he said. While he is relieved the fighting has paused, the loss has been overwhelming. “We’re happy about the ceasefire, but we’ve paid a high price. Our homes were badly damaged. We’ve lost a lot… I feel like crying. Thank God we’re still alive, but what about all the people who died under the rubble?”