OTTAWA – Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand will join multi-nation talks hosted by the U.K. on Thursday on finding diplomatic options to reopen the Strait of Hormuz trade corridor.
Anand says all countries involved should know Canada will not hesitate to help secure the strait once there is a ceasefire, but the Liberal government has not decided yet on specific measures.
The Iran war has disrupted shipments of energy commodities through the strait, causing global oil prices to surge over the past month.
Anand has just returned from a trip to Saudi Arabia, where she met with top-level officials to discuss deepening trade ties and finding ways to reduce tensions in the region as the war escalates.
Even though Saudi Arabia was hit by retaliatory strikes the night before the minister arrived, Anand says it was important for her to go to Riyadh to thank the Saudi government in person for helping about 300 Canadians leave the region.
It’s been 32 days since the outbreak of the Iran war, which has been threatening the security of Gulf states and spilling out into a broader conflict in the Middle East as Israel dispatches ground troops further into Lebanon.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 1, 2026.