German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, at the close of a meeting devoted to the Strait of Hormuz at the Elysée Palace in Paris, April 17, 2026. JEANNE ACCORSINI/AFP
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni arrived in a blood-red suit and was greeted by a beaming French president. From the steps of the Elysée Palace, Emmanuel Macron relished the moment: Meloni's presence in Paris on Friday, April 17, to help organize an "international mission" aimed at peacefully restoring freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz was itself a political signal.
It was also a declaration of Europe's independence from Donald Trump. "The United States has been informed of this meeting, and they have been told they are not part of it," the Elysée said curtly, viewing the attendance of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer as a sign of "European unity" ready to "act on its own terms."
This conference, co-chaired by France and the United Kingdom, brought together leaders from about 40 middle powers, some by video: Europeans, but also Asian and Pacific countries like Japan, South Korea and Australia; Gulf states such as Saudi Arabia; and countries from the Americas, including Canada. Their goal was to secure traffic in the strait, which has been paralyzed by Tehran after the war launched by Israel and the US against Iran on February 28.
