ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – A senior Iranian official on Saturday warned Britain and France against deploying a multinational military mission to the Strait of Hormuz, saying the strategic waterway is not a "military parade ground" for outside powers and cautioning that such a move would have consequences.

The warning came a day after Britain and France said in a joint declaration that they are “ready to deploy the wider Multinational Military Mission” to support freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, describing the restoration of safe transit as a matter of “global concern.”

“The Strait of Hormuz is not a military parade ground for extra-regional powers,” Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi wrote in a post on X.

Gharibabadi asserted that Tehran, “as the responsible power and guarantor of the security of the Strait,” warns against any military activity at the waterway.

He reiterated that the security of the strait lies with the coastal states, echoing previous statements by Iranian officials that Oman and Iran should be the sole parties managing and regulating it.

Iran and Oman announced the formation of a joint working group on June 23 to determine future administrative arrangements for the strait.

The British-French declaration, however, said Oman “has agreed” to work with the two countries to ensure that “its sovereign territorial waters are safe for navigation.”

“The crisis-makers will be responsible for the consequences of their adventurism; this is a serious warning,” Gharibabadi said.

On Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron met Oman's Sultan Haitham bin Tariq in Paris, where the two leaders called for "free navigation, without conditions or restrictions" through the strategic waterway.

The Strait of Hormuz has remained a focal point of tensions since the outbreak of the Middle East war in late February. The United States and Iran exchanged retaliatory strikes in late June after Washington accused Tehran of attacking a commercial vessel transiting the strait.

The two sides agreed on Sunday to halt their exchange of attacks in and around the strait, according to a senior US official cited by Axios.

Tehran has repeatedly maintained that vessels using the Strait of Hormuz must travel through shipping lanes approved by Iranian authorities and provide prior notification before transiting the waterway.