JAKARTA - The Netherlands has sent the HNLMS Willemstad mine-sweeping ship to the Mediterranean Sea to participate in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Defense Pact mission and can be deployed to the Strait of Hormuz if necessary.
Dutch Defense Minister Dilan Yesilgoz-Zegerius said the ship would join the NATO Maritime Task Force in the Mediterranean Sea.
"From there, if necessary, the ship can be deployed to the Strait of Hormuz, an important trade route for oil and gas," Yesilgoz-Zegerius said via his X account, as reported by ANTARA from Sputnik, Thursday, May 28.
He said the Dutch government was exploring the option of deploying the mine-sweeping ship to the Strait of Hormuz with its allies.
Last week, military leaders from around 40 countries held talks led by Britain and France.
A joint statement after the meeting said the coalition's mission to reopen the Strait of Hormuz would complement diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict between the United States and Iran.
On February 28, the United States and Israel launched a joint attack on a number of targets in Iran, including in Tehran, which caused damage and civilian casualties.
Iran then retaliated by attacking Israeli territory and US military facilities in the Middle East.
Washington and Tehran announced a ceasefire on April 7, but subsequent talks in Islamabad ended without a breakthrough.
Escalating conflict around Iran has led to a de facto blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, the main route for shipping oil and liquefied natural gas from the Persian Gulf to global markets.
This condition also affects oil exports and production, as well as driving up fuel and industrial product prices in many countries.
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