UK navy preps for strait de-mining

Aboard the RFA Lyme Bay off Gibraltar, hundreds of British sailors are awaiting deployment for a mine-clearing mission in the Strait of Hormuz, pending a peace agreement. Britain's Armed Forces Minister Al Carns visited the vessel as it prepared for a possible UK- and France-led international operation to secure the strait.

The amphibious landing vessel was being loaded with ammunition and mine-hunting sea drones equipped with sonar. The RFA Lyme Bay is expected to leave Gibraltar soon to join the UK destroyer HMS Dragon and allied ships before sailing through the Suez Canal to the Persian Gulf.

“Which other country can pull together 40 nations and come up with a solution to deal with a complex problem that we couldn't predict because we weren't involved?” Carns asked. Donald Trump has described Britain's navy as “toys” and Prime Minister Keir Starmer as “not Winston Churchill”.  At least 6,000 ships have been blocked from passing through the strait since the war began, Carns said. —AP