The Royal Navy is sending a warship to the Middle East where it could join an international mission to safeguard shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
HMS Dragon, a type 45 destroyer, will "pre-position" in the region ahead of its "potential role" in what the Ministry of Defence (MoD) described as a "strictly defensive and independent" mission.
Sir Keir Starmer, who together with French president Emmanuel Macron is championing the mission, has said the shipping mission would only take place once fighting in the region ends.
Iran has been controlling the Strait of Hormuz for months in retaliation for the US and Israeli attacks.
Some 20% of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas uses the crucial waterway, whose blockage has sent prices soaring globally.
